ABSTRACT:
The present study was carried out to demonstrate the effect of poly vinyl alcohol (PVA) on controlling particle size during production of nanocrystals of aceclofenac. Nanosuspensions were prepared by precipitation-ultrasonication method. PVA along with an anionic surfactant delivered a nanosuspension with narrow polydispersity index successfully. Polymer to drug ratio and concentration of sodium dodecyl sulphate (SDS) significantly influenced the particle size of nanosuspension. SDS showed a synergistic effect with PVA and dramatically affected the physical characteristics of formulations. Nanosuspensions were evaluated for saturation solubility, in vitro drug dissolution behavior, particle size, polydispersity index, zeta potential, crystallinity (DSC) and surface morphology (FESEM). All formulations were found with higher saturation solubility compared to raw drug. Nanosuspension with 25% w/w polymer to drug ratio and 7.5% w/w SDS to drug ratio showed best results in terms of saturation solubility and dissolution rate. Entire drug was released and dissolved from the optimized formulation in distilled water in contrast raw aceclofenac showed 21.794 ± 3.21% drug release after 15 min. The considerable improvement in the dissolution rate of aceclofenac from optimized formulation was attributed to smaller particle size and presence of hydrophilic layer of polymer on particle surface. Thus PVA and SDS can be used for controlling of particle size during production of aceclofenac nanosuspension.