ENHANCING SOLUBILITY AND DISSOLUTION OF CELECOXIB BY SPRAY DRYING TECHNIQUE

Abstract

Celecoxib, a selective COX-2 inhibitor, exhibits poor water solubility, dissolution and flow properties. Thus, the aim of the present study was to improve the solubility and dissolution rate of celecoxib by preparing crystals by spray drying technique using pluronic F 127. Celecoxib crystals were produced by spray drying using TBA and water as co-solvent system to enhance solubility and dissolution rate. The prepared crystals were evaluated for solubility and in-vitro dissolution. The prepared formulations were characterized by differential scanning calorimeter (DSC), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR), X-ray diffraction (XRD) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). Dissolution profile of the prepared spray dried crystals was compared with recrystallized sample and pure sample. Spray dried crystals exhibited decreased crystallinity. The solubility and dissolution of the crystals were significantly improved compared with recrystallized sample and pure sample of celecoxib. The solubility of crystals was found to be three fold more than the pure celecoxib and dissolution of spray dried crystals showed 76 % release in 60 min while pure sample shows 35% release in 60 min. Consequently, from the above result it can be concluded that spray dried crystals of celecoxib are a useful technique to improve the solubility and dissolution of poorly water soluble drug like celecoxib.