Objective: The objective of the present work was to formulate the solid dispersions of simvastatin for enhancement of its aqueous solubility and dissolution rate.
Methods: In the present study, solid dispersions of simvastatin were prepared by Kneading and Solvent evaporation methods. The polymeric carriers like Polyethylene glycol (PEG) 6000 and Polyvinyl Pyrrolidone (PVP) K30 were used in different ratios (ratio of drug: carrier was 1:1, 1:2) to formulate solid dispersions. The prepared solid dispersions were characterized by differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), Fourier transforms infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), and evaluated for drug content, percentage yield, saturation solubility, in vitro dissolution studies. The best formula of the solid dispersion was selected according to the solubility and dissolution data.
Results: The F7 formulation was found to be an optimized formulation containing PVP K30 in the ratio 1:1 prepared by solvent evaporation technique. The Drug content was found to be higher i.e. 94.89 in the F7 batch. The FT-IR spectra revealed that there was no interaction between drugs and carriers. DSC thermogram indicated entrapment of simvastatin in PVP K30 and the conversion of crystalline simvastatin into an amorphous form. The F7 formulation showed maximum drug release i.e. 98.60% in 60 min which is 2 times greater than pure drug making it an optimized formulation.
Conclusion: The solubility of simvastatin was successfully enhanced through the solid dispersion technique. Solid dispersions prepared with solvent evaporation method were more soluble than solid dispersions prepared with kneading method with carrier PVP K30
