Influence of process parameters on the formation of controlled release lipospheres of ketoprofen and their characterization

Objective: The study was initiated to formulate controlled release lipospheres of ketoprofen to solve the problem of the need for frequent administration due to drug’s short half-life.Methods: The Ketoprofen lipospheres were prepared with different amounts lipid by a melt dispersion technique. In this study the percent cumulative drug release (%CDR) for 12 hours of liposphere batches containing only cetostearyl alcohol as lipid was compared with the percent cumulative drug release for 12 hours of related batches consisting of bees wax or paraffin wax containing the same amount of lipid. A paired t-test was used for the analysis.Results: The in-vitro drug release of the lipospheres ranged from 39% to 91%, and SEM analysis showed spherical shaped particles with smooth surfaces. FT-IR analysis indicated the presence of lipid and drug while DSC studies showed that the drug was completely dispersed in the lipid matrix. A selected batch showed satisfactory percentage practical yield (90.01±2.50%), percentage drug content (81.78±1.44%) and drug release (91.0±2.42%).Conclusions: From the results obtained, it can be concluded that, the concentration of lipid increased the drug release decreased. Also the drug release was significantly lowered as compared to those containing a single lipid. The formulations followed a zero order kinetic release model indicating controlled release.