Preparation and Evaluation of Zafirlukast Compression Coated Tablets for Chronotherapeutic Drug Delivery

The objective of the present study was to formulate and evaluate an oral, time-controlled drug delivery system of Zafirlukast. Zafirlukast belongs to BCS class II drugs as it has poor aqueous solubility and good permeability. Hence an attempt has been made to improve its aqueous solubility by solid dispersion technique so that its dissolution, bioavailability, and therapeutic effect can be optimized. The optimized solid dispersion was then formulated into a chronotherapeutic drug delivery system by compression coating technology. FT-IR study revealed that there was no chemical interaction between the drug and polymers used. Tablets were prepared by direct compression method using different super disintegrants and then followed by compression coating using natural polymers. Pre-compression and post-compression parameters complied with the Pharmacopoeia limit for the tablets. In vitro release studies were performed and the results indicated the formulation Z9F9 to be the optimized formulation.