EVALUATION OF THE FLOW-THROUGH CELL DISSOLUTION APPARATUS - EFFECTS OF FLOW-RATE, GLASS-BEADS AND TABLET POSITION ON DRUG-RELEASE FROM DIFFERENT TYPE OF TABLETS

Several factors affecting the dissolution performance of various solid dosage forms tested using the now-through cell method have been evaluated in this study. These factors include the flow rate, the position of tablets in the flow through cell and the glass beads, as well as the physical properties of the dosage forms. The experimental results indicated that the flow rate through the cell greatly affects drug release from disintegrating tablets. Drug release increases with increasing the flow rate of the dissolution medium, as expected. However, the flow rate does not significantly influence drug release from tablets which are not disintegratable, for example, an erodible tablet. The position of the tablets in the flow cell without glass beads is also of importance. Drug release from horizontally positioned tablets is different from vertically positioned tablets in the flow-through cell. It was also observed that the use of glass beads in the flow cell can make the flow pattern more laminar. This may help avoid a turbulent agitation within the cell, which could impact on drug dissolution.