Formulation, Evaluation and Pharmacokinetics of Flurbiprofen Fast Dissolving Tablets

Aim: The intent of present study is to formulate fast dissolving tablets of flurbiprofen using different superdisintegrants to improve the dissolution and bioavailability.
Place and Duration of Study: Jyothishmathi Institute of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Karimnagar, Andhra Pradesh, India, between January 2011 and December 2012.
Methodology: Flurbiprofen fast dissolving tablets were prepared using different superdisintegrants and characterized for different physical parameters, DSC, FTIR studies, in vitro dissolution studies and in vivo pharmacokinetics to prove the enhancement of bioavailability.
Results: From the in vitro dissolution studies, the percent drug release in 15 min (Q15) was found to be 91.46±1.42% in case of optimized formulation where as the conventional tablets prepared by similar manner showed 22.92±0.47% in 15 min. The initial dissolution rate and dissolution efficiency for optimized formulation was 6.10%/min and 53.44 but it was 1.53%/min and 10.96 in conventional tablets. They increased by 4.0 folds when compared to conventional tablets. From the pharmacokinetic evaluation, the optimized fast dissolving tablets produced peak plasma concentration (Cmax) as 11433.32 ng/ml at 2 h Tmax, but they were found to be 8792.64 ng/ml at 3 h Tmax, in case of conventional tablets. The area under the curve for the optimized fast dissolving and conventional tablets were found to be 42691.23 and 30727.14 ng-h/ml.
Conclusion: In summary, formulation of fast dissolving tablets using superdisintegrants was a good approach to enhance the dissolution and absorption rates of flurbiprofen.