FORMULATION DEVELOPMENT USING MAIZE STARCH & AVICEL PH101 AS DISINTEGRATING AGENTS AND THEIR EFFECT ON PHYSICAL CHARACTERISTICS & IN VITRO RELEASE PROFILE

The present study was undertaken to formulate directly compressible tablets to investigate the effect of different disintegrating agents such as maize starch and avicel PH101 on disintegration time, in vitro drug dissolution and their release properties. Tablets of paracetamol and the combination of paracetamol and diclofenac using maize starch and avicel PH 101 were prepared separately by direct compression method. The in vitro release of these formulations were studied at distilled water  for one hour using the USP paddle method as specified in united states pharmacopeias for immediate release preparation. Significant differences were found among the drug release profile from different tablet formulations using different disintegrants. Formula No. 3 containing the combination of paracetamol and diclofenac using maize starch showed the lowest hardness and disintegrating time i.e. 3.99 Kg/cm² and 7.08 minutes respectively, and the highest drug release i.e. 75.50% compared to other formulations. The influence of different disintegrants was evaluated by measuring the disintegration time and hardness of the tablets. The effect of starch & avicel on the physical properties of direct compressed tablets was also studied. It was concluded that the immediate release tablets with proper hardness, disintegration time and with increased rate of dissolution can be prepared using starch & avicel