STUDIES ON EFFECT OF DIFFERENT POLYMERS FOR THE PREPARATION OF FAST DISSOVING ORAL FILMS OF SUMATRIPTAN SUCCINATE

Sandhra S.*

ABSTRACT

Sumatriptan succinate is an effective medication for treating migraines. Due to its high first pass metabolism, its oral bioavailability is limited. The aim of the present research is to circumvent the first pass effect by utilizing the solvent casting process to create rapidly dissolving oral films containing sumatriptan succinate. A rapid onset of action and immediate relief of symptoms can be achieved through the use of fast dissolving films. Therefore, fast dissolving films are the preferred formulations as they are soluble in saliva, releasing the drug within 6 minutes. The bioavailability of the drug in film dosage form is higher than in conventional dosage forms. Fast dissolving oral films reduce the lag time, resulting in a quicker onset of action. Oral films disintegrate rapidly in the mouth, allowing most of the medication to enter the systemic circulation through the buccal/oral mucosa, bypassing first-pass metabolism. Polymers such as HPMC E3 and E15 are used as film formers, while Sodium CMC, Polyvinyl pyrrolidone, and PEG 4000 are used as plasticizers to prepare the oral films, which were then evaluated for mechanical properties, disintegration, and in vitro dissolution. Fast dissolving oral films provide an appealing option for systemic drug delivery. The oral mucosa is an attractive and practical site for systemic drug delivery due to its increased systemic bioavailability, better permeability, and large surface area of absorption, ease of ingestion and swallowing, and pain avoidance. Rapidly dissolving dosage forms are also known as quick dissolving delivery systems, quick disintegrating, oral dissolve dosage forms, or melt-in-mouth dosage forms. It was observed that the concentrations of plasticizer and polymer had an impact on the properties of the strips. Dissolution studies were conducted in distilled water for 15 minutes, and all the formulations exhibited the release of more than 50% of the drug within the first 6 minutes, highlighting the usefulness of fast dissolving oral films for drug delivery. The prepared films were assessed for uniformity of weight, thickness, folding endurance, surface pH, drug content, tensile strength, percentage of moisture content, and in vitro dissolution studies.

Keywords: Sumatriptan succinate, Fast dissolving film, polymer, Anti migraine, Oral film.