FORMULATION AND PHYSICOCHEMICAL CHARACTERIZATION OF PIROXICAM CONTAINING POLYMER FILMS

Piroxicam is a potent nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug associated with many side effects when taken orally. An attention was paid in this work to formulate and characterize piroxicam containing polymer films for dermal use. The used polymers were Eudragit types namely Eudragit RL100, RS100, L100 and Eudragit S100. In this study, medicated films consisting of drug and carrier were prepared. The carrier consisted of one or two polymers. The physicochemical characterization was done by IR spectroscopy, DSC and X-Ray diffractometry for both piroxicam polymeric films and their corresponding physical mixtures as well as the untreated drug and polymer powders to investigate the drug polymer interaction. The results indicate presence of molecular interactions between piroxicam and both Eudragit L100 and Eudragit S100 and no interactions were found between piroxicam and Eudragit RL100 or Eudragit RS100. In-vitro drug release from Eudragit films was studied. It is found that the drug release from hydrophilic polymers is faster than that from hydrophobic ones.