A drug release study from hydroxypropylmethylcellulose (HPMC) matrices using QSPR modeling

This investigation is aimed at characterization of the mode of release from two different substitution types of HPMC and the effect of chemical structure of drugs using the QSPR (Quantitative ‐ Structure-Property Relationship) technique. To this end, release profiles of HPMC matrices of several drugs containing the same formulation and compressed at a constant pressure were studied. QSPR method was used to establish statistically significant relationships between release parameters and the structural descriptors. Structural descriptors consisted of molecular mechanical, quantum mechanical and graph‐theoretical parameters, as well as the partition coefficient and the aqueous solubility of the drugs. The results showed that the most important factors determining the release profile from both HPMC K4M and HPMC E4M matrices were the aqueous solubility of drugs (which could be substituted efficiently by dipole moment) and the size of the drug molecules. Comparison of drug release from matrices prepared using the two grades of HPMC showed very distinct differences for some drugs, as evaluated by the similarity factor. The results indicated that the source of the difference could be sought in the drug properties (as exemplified by the aqueous solubility and surface area) as well as the rate of erosion (that depends mainly on the polymer type). © 2007 Wiley‐Liss, Inc. and the American Pharmacists Association J Pharm Sci 96: 3334-3351, 2007