FORMULATION AND CHARACTERIZATION OF MELOXICAM SOLID DISPERSIONS

Meloxicam, a non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug (NSAID), is widely used as a first line therapy in symptomatic relief of rheumatoid arthritis, osteoarthritis and other joint diseases. One of the major problems with this drug is its low solubility in biological fluids, which results in poor bioavailability after oral administration. Therefore, solid dispersions (SDs) of meloxicam were prepared using polyvinyl alcohol (PVA), polyvinyl pyrrolidone (PVP), polyethylene glycol (PEG) 4000 and PEG 6000 to increase its aqueous solubility. Meloxicam SDs were prepared in 1:1, 1:2 and 1:4 ratios of the drug to polymer ratio (by weight) using solvent evaporation method (SEM). Invitro release profiles of all SDs (Fl to F12) were comparatively evaluated and also studied against pure meloxicam. Faster dissolution was exhibited by SD containing 1:2 ratio of drug:PEG 4000. The increase in dissolution rate of the drug may be due to increase in wettability, hydrophilic nature of the carrier and also due to reduction in drug crystallinity. SDs were subjected to per cent practical yield, drug content and Fourier transform-infrared (FT-IR) spectroscopic studies. The absence of significant drug-carrier interaction was confirmed by FT-IR data.