Studies on dissolution enhancement of prednisolone, a poorly water-soluble drug by solid dispersion technique.

INTRODUCTION Prednisolone is a class II substance according to the Biopharmaceutics Classification System. It is a poorly water soluble agent. The aim of the present study was to improve dissolution rate of a poorly water-soluble drug, prednisolone, by a solid dispersion technique. METHODS Solid dispersion of prednisolone was prepared with PEG 6000 or different carbohydrates such as lactose and dextrin with various ratios of the drug to carrier i.e., 1:10, 1:20 and 1:40. Solid dispersions were prepared by coevaporation method. The evaluation of the properties of the dispersions was performed using dissolution studies, Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy and x-ray powder diffractometery. RESULTS The results indicated that lactose is suitable carriers to enhance the in vitro dissolution rate of prednisolone. The data from the x-ray diffraction showed that the drug was still detectable in its solid state in all solid dispersions except solid dispersions prepared by dextrin as carrier. The results from infrared spectroscopy showed no well-defined drug-carrier interactions for coevaporates. CONCLUSION Solid dispersion of a poorly water-soluble drug, prednisolone may alleviate the problems of delayed and inconsistent rate of dissolution of the drug.