Formulation Development and Evaluation of Mini Tablet of Ciprofloxacin

Abstract

The present research focused on the development of sustained release matrix tablets of Ciprofloxacin targeted to the colon using various polymers. To achieve pH-independent drug release, buffering agents were incorporated as pH modifiers. Colon-targeted tablets were formulated in two steps: preparation of core tablets followed by coating with pH-dependent polymers. Ethyl cellulose, Eudragit L100, and Eudragit S100 were employed as enteric coating agents. The pre-compression blends of all formulations exhibited satisfactory flow properties, and the coated tablets complied with pharmacopoeial quality evaluations. Among the different batches, formulation F3 was identified as the optimized formulation, as it effectively sustained drug release up to 12 hours and achieved 98.69% cumulative release. The drug release kinetics of the optimized formulation followed the zero-order mechanism, confirming its suitability for sustained release. Thus, the developed formulation shows promise as a colon-targeted drug delivery system for Ciprofloxacin, with the potential to improve therapeutic efficacy and patient compliance.