Use of SBA-15 for furosemide oral delivery enhancement

The objective of this research was to realize a new oral solid dosage form in order to improve the release of furosemide (FURO) in its preferential absorption region. In fact FURO is a drug labeled in class IV of the Biopharmaceutical Classification System (BCS) characterized by low and variable bioavailability due to both low solubility and low permeability and because of its weakly acid nature is preferentially absorbed in the stomach whereas its solubility is hampered. FURO was included in the mesoporous silica material SBA-15 obtaining an inorganic-organic compound fully characterized by: thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), X-ray Powder Diffraction (XRPD), Differential Scanning Calorimetry (DSC), Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FT-IR) and nitrogen adsorption-desorption analysis and then submitted to in vitro dissolution. The results showed a remarkable dissolution rate improvement in comparison to the crystalline drug and to the marketed product Lasix (R). The inclusion product was also submitted to physical stability studies that revealed the matrix ability to prevent re-organization in crystal nucleus of the drug molecules. (C) 2012 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.