Self-emulsifying Delivery System in Solubility and Dissolution Enhancement of Cardiovascular Drug

Objective: The objective of the present study was to formulate and develop a self-emulsifying drug delivery system for poorly water soluble cardiovascular drug of atorvastatin calcium (atc) (SEDDS) by improving its solubility and dissolution characteristics, thereby enhancing its relative bioavailability. Methods: Atorvastatin calcium was identified by Fourier transform infrared (FT-IR) spectroscopic study. The SEDDS was prepared using sunflower oil, labrasol and transcutol HP as an oil phase, surfactant, and co-surfactant respectively. Initially, the solubility of atc was examined in different oils, surfactants and co-surfactants, and ternary phase diagrams were constructed subsequently to optimize the ratio of the excipients having greater microemulsion region. The self-emulsifying batches of atc were developed with the optimized excipients and evaluated for droplet size, polydispersity index, drug loading, zeta potential, optical clarity, turbidity, cloud point, viscosity determination, selfemulsification time assessment and in vitro drug release. Results: The in vitro dissolution studies revealed that the optimized formulation of atorvastatin calcium showed more than 90% of drug release within 30 minutes when compared to that of marketed tablet.