PREPARATION AND CHARACTERIZATION OF ZAFIRLUKAST- β-CYCLODEXTRIN COMPLEXES USING SOLID DISPERSION TECHNIQUES

Zafirlukast is an oral leukotriene receptor antagonist used in the treatment of asthma. Poor solubility in biological fluids is the major problem with this drug which results in poor bioavailability after an oral administration. The rate of absorption and the extent of bioavailability for such a poor soluble drug is controlled by rate of dissolution in gastrointestinal fluids. Hence an attempt has been made to enhance the solubility of the drug by preparing its complex with β-cyclodextrin. FT-IR studies were performed. Drugcomplexing agent interactions were investigated using differential scanning calorimetry(DSC) . The study clearly shows that the dissolution rate of zafirlukast may be enhanced to a great extent by solid dispersion technique using kneading method. This is due to the reason that the cyclodextrins increased the aqueous solubility of poorly soluble drug by forming inclusion complexes with their apolar molecules and functional groups.