HYDROTROPIC SOLUBILISATION OF IRBESARTAN: MECHANISTIC STUDY AND DISSOLUTION PROFILING

Irbesartan (IB) is a water insoluble drug belonging to BCS II that exerts its anti-hypertensive effect through the blockage of angiotensin II receptors. The aqueous insolubility of IB limits its bioavailability and overall efficacy. Hydrotrophy, a solubilization technique to achieve an augmentation in aqueous solubility of poorly water-soluble drugs, has recently gained a lot of interest due to its safety, economics, and use of non-toxic and non-flammable adjuvants. The present study deals with application of hydrotrophy techniques to increase the solubility of IB using sodium benzoate and urea as the hydrotropic agent. The results showed a significant enhancement in dissolution profile of IB as compared to non-hydrotropic drug. The dissolution rate and solubility comparison of both hydrotropic agents revealed that sodium benzoate has a better solubilizing efficiency than urea. Hence, it can be concluded that hydrotropic concept can be adopted as a solubility enhancement technique for poorly water-soluble drugs.