Formulation and In-vitro Evaluation of Nicorandi Tablet for Controlled Release Drug Delivery System

Abstract

Nicorandil is a vasodilatory drug used to treat angina. Angina is chest pain that results from episodes of transient myocardial ischemia. This can be caused by diseases such as atherosclerosis, coronary artery disease and aortic stenosis. Angina commonly arises from vasospasm of the coronary arteries. There are multiple mechanisms causing the increased smooth muscle contraction involved in coronary vasospasm, including increased Rho-kinase activity.Aim of the present study was to develop controlled release formulation of Nicorandil to maintain constant therapeutic levels of the drug for over 12 hrs. Methocel K 15M, Gum karaya, Chitosan. Nicorandil  dose was fixed as 10 mg. Total weight of the tablet was considered as 120 mg. Polymers were used in the concentration of 10mg, 20mg and 30 mg concentration. All the formulations were passed various physicochemical evaluation parameters and they were found to be within limits. Whereas from the dissolution studies it was evident that the formulation (F3) showed better and desired drug release pattern i.e., 98.07 % in  12 hours. It contains the natural polymer Nicorandil as controlled release material. It followed zero order release kinetics mechanism.