For poorly soluble, highly permeable (class II) drug meloxicam, the rate of oral absorption is often controlled by the dissolution rate in the gastrointestinal tract. The aim of the present study was to develop meloxicam spherical agglomerate to improve solubility characteristic and dissolution rate by neutralization method. Crystallization medium used for spherical agglomerates of meloxicam consisted of 1 N sodium hydroxide, 0.07M hydrochloric acid and chloroform as bridging liquid. In this method the crystallization takes place mainly due to the precipitation of drug by the addition of hydrochloric acid in which the drug is insoluble followed by agglomeration of crystal by the addition of bridging liquid under continuous stirring. The precipitated crystals were filtered and dried at 45°C for 24 hour. Process variables such as amount of chloroform, hydrochloric acid, stirring speed and stirring time were optimized. Micromeritic, solubility and dissolution studies were carried out. Dissolution profiles of the spherical agglomerates were compared with pure sample. Among the entire parameters batch obtained with 1 N sodium hydroxide, 0.07M HCl and chloroform (bridging liquid) in the ratio of 25:80:8 ml was optimum. The spherical agglomerates showed significant improvement in dissolution from a value 55.02% for pure meloxicam to 89.12%.
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