Formulation and Evaluation of Carvedilol Solid Dispersions for Dissolution Rate Enhancement

Solid dispersions in water soluble carriers have attracted considerable interest as a means of improving the dissolution rate, and hence possibly bioavailability of a range of hydrophobic drugs. The poor solubility of Carvedilol leads to poor dissolution and hence variation in bioavailability. The purpose of present investigation was to increase the solubility and dissolution rate of Carvedilol for enhancement of oral bioavailability. In the present investigation solid dispersions using various carriers like Mannitol, Lactose, Urea and PEG4000 in different ratios were prepared by Solvent evaporation method. The prepared solid dispersions were characterized for drug content, solubility and dissolution rate. The dissolution rate was substantially improved for carvedilol from its solid dispersions compared with pure drug. Dissolution of drug increased with an increase in carrier content. The dissolution rate was increased 3 folds with solid dispersions containing 1:4 ratio of drug : PEG4000.