FORMULATION AND EVALUATION OF ORODISPERSIBLE TABLETS OF NAPROXEN SODIUM BY DIRECT COMPRESSION METHOD.

Present study deals with formulation and evaluation of naproxen sodium orodispersible tablets by direct compression method using superdisintegrants. Orodispersible tablets or fast dissolving tablets are the solid unit dosage forms that dissolve or disintegrate rapidly in the mouth without chewing or water [1]. ODTS provide improved patient compliance particularly for pediatric and geriatric patients with difficulty in swallowing. Naproxen sodium is a NSAID that is used to treat pain and inflammation in various conditions. As it is an analgesic drug rapid action is a desired feature. Gastric discomfort is one of the major side effects associated with the drug, which can be minimized by formulating it as ODT’s. Naproxen Odts were prepared by direct compression method, the most easiest and cost effective way to prepare tablets with common ingredients and, by limited number of processing steps using super disintegrants cross carmellose sodium in different concentrations (5,10,15,20,25). The powder blend was subjected to pre compression evaluation parameters like bulk density, tapped density, and angle of repose. All Formulations are evaluated for weight variation, hardness, wetting time, water absorption time, disintegration time and in vitro dissolution studies. The drug excipient compatibility was verified by FTIR. The pre compression evaluation results revealed that all formulations were of good flowability. The hardness and friability results indicated good mechanical strength with acceptable disintegration time. The optimized formulation F5 showed good in vitro drug release profile with maximum drug being released at all time intervals making it ideal for development as ODT’s. The compiled results of pre compression and post compression evaluation parameters along with FTIR was presented.