Enhancement of water solubility of felodipine by preparing solid dispersion using poly-ethylene glycol 6000 and poly-vinyl alcohol

In the present study, solid dispersion (SD) of felodipine was prepared to enhance its water solubility. The SD was prepared by using polyethylene glycol (PEG 6000) and polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) as a carrier with different drug polymer ratios using different techniques (physical mixing and solvent evaporation). The product was characterized by differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), X-ray diffraction (XRD) and in vitro dissolution rate studies. Phase solubility analysis was performed in aqueous solution for drug polymer interactions. DSC and XRD analysis demonstrated the conversion of felodipine to amorphous form with both physical mixture (PM) and SD. SD with PVA released 95% of the drug in 85 min as compared with 89% of drug released in 90 min by SD with PEG 6000. Thus, SD with both polymers increased drug release, particularly greater in the case of PVA than PEG 6000.