Abstract

FORMULATION AND INVITRO EVALUATION OF BUCCAL TABLETS OF TAPENTADOL HYDROCHLORIDE

P. Naresh*, S.Sujatha

ABSTRACT

The present investigation is concerned with formulation and evaluation of buccal tablets containing a centrallyacting opioid analgesic drug, TapentadolHCl to circumvent the first pass effect and to improve its bioavailability with reduction in dosing frequency and dose related side effects. The tablets were prepared by direct compression method. The formulations were developed with varying concentrations of polymers like Carbopol 934, HPMC-K4M, sodium alginate, xanthangum, and polyvinylpyrrolidone-K30 (PVP). The prepared formulations were evaluated for their physicochemical characteristics, swelling index, surface pH, buccoadhesive strength, drug content uniformity and in-vitro drug release studies. Formulation (F8) showed maximum drug release of 99% in 8 hours. The in-vitrorelease kineticsstudies reveal that all formulations fits well with zero order kinetics followed by Korsmeyer-Peppas, first order and then Higuchi’s model.

Keywords: Tapentadol hydrochloride, opioid analgesic, buccoadhesive tablets, HPMC K4M, zero order kinetics