EFFECT OF POLYMERIC RATIO AND PORE FORMERS ON SUPER POROUS HYDROGEL OF AMOXYCILLIN TRIHYDRATE

The work aimed to prepare super porous hydrogels (SPHs) of Amoxicillin trihydrate to release the drug in a sustained manner in the gastric environment and study the polymeric ratio and pore effect formers on the physicomechanical properties and drug release kinetics of the formulations. Fourier Transform Infra-Red (FTIR) studies were done to check the compatibility of the drug with the polymers. The super porous hydrogel formulations were prepared in two batches (A and B) using sodium chloride and sodium bicarbonate as pore formers, respectively. Scanning Electron Microscopy observed the structural morphology of hydrogel. The presence of a large number of pores with sizes ranging from 1 to 10 μm was revealed, confirming the formation of a super porous hydrogel. As dictated by in-vitro dissolution data, the increases in the polymer concentration of HPMC K4M progressively retards and prolongs the drug release; however, no significant change in the effect was observed among NaCl and NaHCO₃ pore formers in the super porous hydrogel. The drug release data were fitted into different kinetic models and were found to be best suited by Higuchi and Korsmeyer-Peppas models. Among the eight batches, drug release from is fully governed by quasi-Fickian diffusion (n < 0.45).