Abstract
Controlled-release of aspirin would be useful in the management of arthritis by administering it at bed-time. Moreover, it could be potentially helpful in reducing the gastrointestinal side effects of aspirin. The circadian rhythm of pain, in rheumatoid arthritis (RA), Joint stiffness and pain are more frequent in the morning. Four formulations F1-F4 of controlled release Aspirin were prepared using different concentrations of the polymer ethyl cellulose through direct compression by geometrically mixing method. Namely they are F1, F2, F3 and F4 using 5%, 10%, 15% and 20% EC respectively. The aim of present study was to study the effect ethyl cellulose concentration on the release profiles of Aspirin. All the prepared tablet formulations showed good tableting characteristics. In this study, the release of all the formulations followed first-order kinetics and the drug was released via anomalous release mechanism. Therefore, diffusion together with erosion were involved in the drug release from these formulations. By using 10% of ethyl cellulose onwards, it was possible to sustain the release of aspirin. By increasing the concentration of the polymer, the rate of drug release from its matrix decreased. In this study, we studied the release for 10 hours. The formulation F1 did not achieve controlled release of Aspirin. More than 80% of Aspirin was dissolved within the first 4 hours. On the other hand, formulation F3 and F4 showed a controlled release for ten hours, with 50.81-64.634% of drug was released. The formulation F2 showed the best dissolution profile for controlled release Aspirin tablets, where it released 88.87% of the drug at the tenth hour. Therefore, formulation F2 was the best formulation for relieving arthritis if administered at or before bed-time compared to formulation F3 and F4.