Application of Hot Melt Extrusion for the Solubility Enhancement of a BCS Class II Drug

Solubility enhancement of poorly soluble drugs for improved oral absorption has become a challenging task for the scientists in the development of pharmaceuticals. The main goal of this study is to investigate the effect of the hydrophilic polymers on the poorly water soluble drug to enhance its solubility through the technique of hotmelt extrusion. The drug selected for this study is paracetamol and the hydrophilic polymers selected for this study are polyox, carbopol 980p, and PEG 6000. The drug and the polymer at a ratio of 1:2 was processed through STEERLife twin screw extruder. The obtained solid dispersion was subjected to the saturation solubility study. Among the selected polymers, paracetamol with polyox polymer has shown enhanced solubility followed by PEG 6000 and carbopol 980p.