Formulation development and evaluation of acyclovir hard candy lozenges

Lozenges are dosage forms made of solid materials that are meant to dissolve or disintegrate gradually in the mouth. They are flavoured and sweetened to make them taste good, and they contain one or more active substances. Although its main purpose is topical, it may also contain substances with systemic effects. Preformulation studies are typically used to evaluate the physicochemical properties of drugs and determine their compatibility with other excipients.  In this study five Acyclovir hard candy lozenges were prepared and the results of the FTIR spectrophotometry indicated that the drug and excipients employed in the formulation of the hard candy lozenges were compatible, as there were no interactions between the drug and the excipients as the peaks remained the same in the FTIR graphs. The manufactured medicated lozenges were tested for drug content homogeneity, hardness, thickness, weight variation, friability, moisture content, in vitro disintegration, as well as dissolution using pharmaceutical standard procedures. The drug concentration of the prepared lozenges ranged from 98.61 to 99.62 %. Among all the formulations F5, showed maximum drug release 100.23% at 35 minutes. Accelerated stability study conducted as per ICH guidelines (zone IV) at 45°C and 75% relative humidity for the best formulation F5 over a period of 30 and 60 days and was found that prepared formulation was stable.