Mechanistic analysis of drug release from tablets with membrane controlled drug delivery

The objective of this study was to receive detailed information on the mechanism of drug release from polyvinyl acetate (PVAc)/polyvinyl alcohol–polyethylene glycol graft copolymer (PVA–PEG) coated Propranolol HCl and Theophylline tablets. For this purpose the coating composition (PVAc/PVA–PEG: 90/10 and 80/20) and the amount of the coating layer have been varied. Due to its better solubility Propranolol HCl showed higher release rates than Theophylline. As expected, a higher percentage of the water soluble polymer accelerated drug release. Increased coating thickness led to amplified lag times of drug release. The water uptake of the tablets was quantified by gravimetric analysis. Furthermore, the microenvironment of the tablet core was monitored by EPR spectroscopy. For this purpose a hydrophilic EPR spin probe was incorporated into tablets. Surprisingly, despite a lag phase at the beginning and a controlled drug release over 24 h, the results of the EPR studies indicated an immediate water penetration through the coating layer into the tablet core. The water is able to solubilise the majority of water soluble compounds within minutes. The results obtained in this study demonstrate, that EPR is a powerful method to monitor the first steps of diffusion processes and the physicochemical state of coated dosage forms.