ABSTRACT
The purpose of the present study was to develop an osmotic drug delivery system for a Gliclazide by using asymmetric membrane technology [AMT]. In the study, the tablets were formulated by using ethyl cellulose and chitosan as asymmetric membrane forming polymers. The asymmetric nature of the membrane coat was confirmed by scanning electron microscopy. The tablets were evaluated for various parameters like average weight, hardness, friability, assay and drug release. A zero order release was achieved in dissolution study and it was established that the release rates were unaffected by the pH of the medium and the speed of agitation. The ethyl cellulose coated AMT delivered the drug in an efficient zero order for about 20 hrs without any pharmacopoeial non-compliance. It was also observed that the level of osmogen, level of coating polymer and the level of pore former in the AM formulation emerged as the significant factors in the designing of an osmotic AMT. The level of plasticizer and the quenching time however did not have any effect on the formulation outcomes. The chitosan AMT delivered the drug gliclazide in a sustained manner for about eight hours. The results showed that the actual and predicted values of the optimized formulation, according to the desired response, are near and the Taguchi design can successfully predict the best conditions for fabricating the Gliclazide AMT for modified drug delivery