Enhancement of Solubility and Dissolution Characteristics of Ibuprofen by Solid Dispersion Technique

Abstract

In this study solid dispersions (SDs) of ibuprofen were prepared by melt dispersion technique using
macrogol 4000 and macrogol 6000 as carrier. Physical mixtures (PMs) of ibuprofen were also prepared with the same
carrier and in the same drug-carrier ratio (1:0.5, 1:1 and 1:1.5) to compare the dissolution profile. The solid
dispersions and physical mixtures were investigated for drug loading, saturation solubility and dissolution behavior.
Saturation solubility study was carried out in phosphate buffer (pH 7.2), 0.1 N HCl solution and distilled water. Solid
dispersions were found effective to enhance the solubility of ibuprofen significantly in all the media. Dissolution test
was carried out in two different media, phosphate buffer (pH 7.2) and 0.1 N HCl. Solid dispersion containing
macrogol 6000 at the ratio of 1:1.5 (drug: carrier) showed faster and higher drug release and was found to be most
effective among all the solid dispersions. Drug carrier interactions were studied by comparing Fourier Transform
Infrared Spectroscopy (FT-IR) of solid dispersions with pure drug which revealed that the SDs were stable. So, solid
dispersion may be an effective technique to enhance dissolution rate of ibuprofen.