Formulation and Evaluation of Hydrogel Based Oral Controlled Drug Delivery System for Saquinavir

Abstract

The main aim of this study was to develop hydrogel based controlled drug delivery system of Saquinavir mesylate as hard gelatin capsule which are able to deliver the drug at prolonged rate. The hydrogel was prepared by crosslinking HPMC 15 cps and Carbopol 971P and then granules are developed using MCC as diluent. Drug excipient compatibility was studied by FT-IR. The prepared hydrogels formulation are evaluated for Swelling index. Drug release from hydrogel was performed by using Franz diffusion cell. The prepared granules are evaluated for pre formulation studies (Bulk density, Tapped density, Angle of repose). The Saquinavir hydrogel capsule are evaluated for weight variation, Drug content uniformity (95%), Disintegration time (11 mins). In-vitro drug release studies are conducted for 12hrs by using USP type I apparatus which is showing drug release of 98%. From the drug release kinetics, it can be determined that the saquinavir hydrogel capsules drug release mechanism follows both the zero-order and Higuchi models. For all metrics, the formulation SHCF4 has demonstrated the best performance in accordance with pharmacopoeia standards.