Solubility Enhancement of Diclofenac Using Solid Dispersions

Background: The phenomenon which gives rise to a homogenous system, formed by the dissolution of solute in a solvent is known as solubility. Low solubility is the limiting factor in formulation development. Diclofenac being BCS class II drug have low aqueous solubility of 0.00401mg/ml. Amongst various solubility enhancement techniques, solid dispersion is the easiest one. Objective: Present work is primarily focused on the development of solid dispersions of diclofenac through solvent evaporation technique utilizing Eudragit E100 as a carrier. Methods: Solid dispersion consists of at least one active pharmaceutical ingredient as a carrier in solid state. Various methods for preparing solid dispersions includes melt extrusion, fusion lyophilization, spray drying, solvent evaporation, and super critical fluid (SCF) technology. Solvent evaporation technique is used among various solid dispersion methods. Conclusion: The enhanced solubility found to be 0.485mg/ml. The dissolution was performed using USP Type II apparatus was %CDR of pure drug and its solid dispersion in 8 hr were found out to be 45.14926% and 98.04758% respectively. Henceforth, solid dispersion technique results marked solubility enhancement of diclofenac sodium.