Effect of Plasticizer Concentration on Film Coating Performance of Hydroxypropyl Methyl Cellulose

The goal of this work was to optimize the plasticizer concentration for film forming polymer, which was not available in experimental proof. For the study, pharmacoat i.e., hydroxypropyl methyl cellulose (HPMC) 606 was taken as polymer and five plasticizers i.e., polyethylene glycol 3350, polyethylene glycol 400, glycerol, triethyl citrate, triacetin at four different concentrations (5%, 12.5%, 20%, and 25%) were selected. Polymer solutions were prepared using distilled water, free film were prepared by film casting technology using Gardener knife with uniform thickness. The prepared HPMC 606 polymer films were subjected to thermal and mechanical analysis for its thermal and mechanical properties. Differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) and texture analyzer (TA) were used in these studies. From the thermal and mechanical values, Optimum plasticizer for HPMC polymer was found to be PEG 400 with 12.5%. The rank order of effective plasticizer was determined based on the reduction in Tg, stress values and increased strain values: PEG 400 > TEC > Triacetin>Glycerol > PEG 3350. Finally, the coating blend was developed with 12.5% PEG 400 with HPMC 606 polymer.The polymeric films were also examined by SEM. In general, the films were uniform without any cracks.