The Improvement of Ibuprofen Dissolution Rate Through Microparticles Spray Drying Processed in an Aqueous System

A study to enhance the dissolution rate of ibuprofen, a poorly water-soluble drug, was carried out through combining specific formulations and processes with the addition of a hydrophilic carrier for the preparation of microparticles. Microparticle production was performed by spray drying ibuprofen microsuspensions formulated in an aqueous system with the addition of ethanol containing Aerosil 200® and Tween 80®. We were able to consistently produce microparticles as much as 40% of the dry weight of the input microsuspension. Spray-dried microparticles were characterized by scanning electron microscopy, X-ray diffraction, differential scanning calorimetry, laser diffractometer mastersizer, and infrared spectroscopy. No modification to the crystalinity and chemical structure of ibuprofen was observed. Dissolution of ibuprofen microparticles reached 100% in 3 minutes compared with less than 10% for unmodified ibuprofen. We concluded that both by the modification of formulation and the spray drying process it is possible to increase the dissolution rate of the tested model drug.