Formulation and Assessment of Indomethacin Nanoparticles for Dissolution Improvement

Indomethacin is a nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug useful to reduce pain, rheumatoid arthritis and fever. Indomethacin, a Class II drug characterized by high permeability and low solubility. The goal of study was to develop Indomethacin nanoparticles by nanoprecipitation method and subsequently investigate if this nanoparticle formulation leads to enhanced solubility and a faster dissolution rate. Nine different formulas were prepared by using three different polymers (HPMC E50, PVP- K30, and poloxamer -188) in three different drug: polymer ratio 1:1, 1:2 and 1:3. Different types and concentrations of polymer used in this study, and the results reveal and found to have a significant (p≤ 0.05) effect on Indomethacin nanoparticle size. The selected formulation N2 contain PVP-K30 in drug: polymer ratio 1:1, has a smallest particle size (94.3 nm) and largest surface area 23.6 m2/g. This formula N2 was freeze dried and subjected for further characterized surface morphology by SEM, and compatibility study by FTIR and DSC. The drug content of N2 formulation contain (95.13±0.5%) of Indomethacin nanoparticles, and the dissolution study demonstrated that the optimized formulation N2 achieved 100% dissolution within 50 minutes, compared to only 20% for raw Indomethacin. In summary, Indomethacin nanoparticles formulation is a suitable method for improving the solubility and release profile of it.