Development and evaluation of self microemulsion drug delivery system for Atorvastatin calcium

M Diril and H Y Karasulu

Development and evaluation of self microemulsion drug delivery system for Atorvastatin calcium

M Diril and H Y Karasulu

Ege University, Turkey

: J Pharm Drug Deliv Res

Abstract

Hypercholesterolemia is a condition characterized by very high levels of cholesterol in the blood. People with hypercholesterolemia have a high risk of developing a form of heart disease called coronary artery disease. Atorvastatin is a BCS class 2 classification groups and displays low resolution with high permeability. It has almost 14% bioavailability absolutely. As a consequence of modern drug discovery techniques, there has been a steady increase in the number of new pharmacologically active lipophilic compounds that are poorly water-soluble. There are a few studies which have also been proven to quite limited studies in order to improve solubility of new AtorvastatinÃ¢Â€Â™s formulations. The aim of this study is to develop a new dosage form, alternative to the classical tablet forms of Atorvastatin. In this study, Atorvastatin calcium was used as the active ingredient, oleic acid was used as the oil phase, Tween 20 and Span 80 were used as the surfactants, and ethanol was used as the co-surfactant. The prepared self microemulsion drug delivery system (SMEDDS) formulations are characterized for size, shape, density, stability and dissolution studies. Permeation studies were also examined with Caco-2 cell culture. According to the obtained results, SMEDDS formulation had a higher dissolution profile and permeability value than the conventional tablet formulation.