Development of Liquisolid Tablets of Chlorpromazine using 32 Full Factorial Design

Abstract

The major problem with chlorpromazine, a BCS Class II drug, is erratic absorption from GIT, limited aqueous solubility, poor dissolution, and poor bioavailability. The present work is aimed to investigate the use of the liquisolid technique to improve the dissolution of chlorpromazine in a tablet dosage form. The liquisolid tablets were formulated using polyethylene glycol 400 as a liquid vehicle, Avicel PH 200 as a carrier material, Neusilin US2 as a coating material and sodium starch glycolate as a superdisintegrant. The new mathematical model and 32 full factorial design were utilized to formulate various liquisolid tablets. The carrier:coating ratio (X1) and drug concentration (% w/v) in polyethylene glycol 400 (X2) were selected as independent variables whereas, percent cumulative drug release at 30 min (Y1) and disintegration time (Y2) were selected as dependent variables. The results of the evaluation parameters of liquisolid tablets were compared with directly compressed tablet and marketed tablet of chlorpromazine. The optimized tablets with liquisolid compact exhibited acceptable flow properties, weight uniformity, drug content, hardness, friability, and disintegration. Liquisolid tablets showed a higher dissolution rate as compared to a directly compressed tablet and marketed tablet. From the study, it may be concluded that the liquisolid technique is a promising alternative for improving the dissolution property of water-insoluble drugs.