Evaluation of the effect of physical variables on in vitro release of diclofenac pellets using Box-Behnken design.
OBJECTIVE
A Box-Behnken design was used for evaluation of Eudragit coated diclofenac pellets. The purpose of this work was to optimize diclofenac pellets to improve the physicochemical properties using experimental design.


METHODS
Diclofenac was loaded onto the non-pareil beads using conventional coating pan. Film coating of pellets was done at the same pan. The effect of plasticizer level, curing temperature and curing time was determined on the release of diclofenac from pellets coated with polymethacrylates.


RESULTS
Increasing the plasticizer in the coating formula led to decrease in drug release and increasing the curing temperature and time resulted in higher drug release. The optimization process generated an optimum of 35% drug release at 3 hr. The level of plasticizer concentration, curing temperature and time were 20% w/w, 55 °C and 24 hr, respectively.


CONCLUSIONS
This study showed that by controllinig the physical variables optimum drug release were obtained.
Pharmaceutical Sciences Research Center, Mazandaran University of Medical Sciences, Sari, Iran ; Department of Pharmaceutics, Faculty of Pharmacy, Mazandaran University of Medical Sciences, Sari, Iran.
Reza
R
Enayatifard
Department of Pharmaceutics, Faculty of Pharmacy, Mazandaran University of Medical Sciences, Sari, Iran.
Aiding
A
Mahjoob
Department of Chemistry, Faculty of Basic Sciences, Golestan University, Gorgan, Iran.
Pouneh
P
Ebrahimi
Pharmaceutical Sciences Research Center, Mazandaran University of Medical Sciences, Sari, Iran ; Department of Pharmaceutics, Faculty of Pharmacy, Mazandaran University of Medical Sciences, Sari, Iran.
Pedram
P
Ebrahimnejad
Diclofenac sodium; Eudragit; Optimization; Pellet; Plasticizer