This work endeavors at investigating different types of hydrophilic matrix forming agents, like hydroxypropyl methylcellulose (HPMC); K4M, K15M and K100M, ethylcellulose, polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP) K30 to formulate controlled-release matrix tablets containing anti-hypertensive drug nifedipine. The tablets were prepared by wet granulation technique. The flow and compression characteristics of the prepared granules were evaluated suitably, where significantly improvements were found by granulation process. The prepared matrix tablets demonstrated good mechanical properties. In-vitro dissolution profile of newly formulated controlled-release tablets were evaluated by United States Pharmacopeia (USP)-33 type II dissolution apparatus and compared accordingly with the standard commercial tablets (Nicardia® Retard Tab). Hydrophilic matrix tablets resulted in sustained in-vitro drug release of 12 hours. Fitting the in-vitro drug release data to release kinetic equation indicated that diffusion along with erosion could be the mechanism of drug release. Dissimilarity and similarity factors of the optimized formulation were found to be 4.46 and 66.84, respectively, indicating close resemblance to that of marketed tablet release profiles. The HPMC and EC based tablet formulations showed high release-retarding efficiency with good reproducibility and stability of the drug release profiles when stored for 90 days in accelerated temperature conditions, suggesting that HPMC and EC are good candidates for preparing modified release nifedipine tablet formulations. In conclusion, the results suggested that the sustained-release matrix tablets of nifedipine can be better dosage forms compared to conventional formulations; thereby resulting in improved therapeutic efficacy and enhanced patient compliance.
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