Comparison of Flurbiprofen Tablets Available In Pakistani Market and Their Absorption Studies

The aim of this present work was to compare different parameters of various brands of flurbiprofen tablets collected from different retail pharmacies in the local market of Pakistan. Four brands A, B, C and D were tested for weight variation, hardness, friability, disintegration dissolution, HPLC assay and in vitro absorption studies in rabbit skin, stomach and intestine by using the pre packed Column RT 250-4.6 Purospher® STAR RP-18 end capped (5 μm) and acetonitrile, phosphate buffer (pH 3.7) as mobile phase in the ratio of 1:1. Flurbiprofen was detected at 265 nm at the flow rate of 1 ml/min. Brand B was considered as referece. Similarity factor (f2) of brand B and C and brand B & D was found to be 61 and 51 and dissimilarity factors (f1) values were 5 and 9 respectively in same dissolution medium. Model dependent methods First order, Hixon Crowell and Weibull model were used. The method was found to be sensitive and linear in the range of 10 to 700 ppm with 0.999 coefficient of correlation. Everted sac absorption studies of selected formulation showed 50% of drug absorption from stomach in first 3 hours, 21% through intestine and very negligible through skin.