DESIGN, DEVELOPMENT AND EVALUATION OF FLOATING MICROSPHERES OF FUROSEMIDE BY MIXED SOLVENCY CONCEPT

Abstract

 Furosemide, a potent loop diuretic, is used in the treatment of edema of hepatic, cardiac, pulmonary and renal failures and in chronic hypertension. The dose related adverse effects have been observed and the treatment with conventional tablets produced short period of maximum diuresis, which is inconvenient to the patients. The objective of present work is to develop a controlled release multiparticulate dosage form of the drug by the use of solvent evaporation technique and to explore the concept of mixed solvency. The aim is to enhance the solubility of furosemide in ethyl acetate and to make ethyl acetate a strong solvent for emulsification solvent evaporation process by the use of solubilizers and limit the use of toxic organic solvents since ethyl acetate is safer (class 3 solvent) than those generally employed for microsphere production i.e. methylene chloride (class 2 solvent). The aim to explore possibility of using ethyl acetate: petroleum ether as a combination of solvents to prepare hollow floating microspheres replacing dichloromethane: ethanol combination which is reported to produce hollow microspheres.