Formulation Development and Evaluation of Acyclovir Orally Disintegrating Tablets

Orally disintegrating systems have an edge amongst the oral drug delivery systems due to the highest component of compliance they enjoy in patients especially the geriatrics and pediatrics. In addition, patients suffering from dysphagia, motion sickness, repeated emesis and mental disorders prefer these medications because they cannot swallow large quantity of water. Further, drugs exhibiting satisfactory absorption from the oral mucosa or intended for immediate pharmacological action can be advantageously formulated in these dosage forms. However, the requirements of formulating these dosage forms with mechanical strength sufficient to withstand the rigors of handling and capable of disintegrating within a few seconds on contact with saliva are inextricable. Therefore, research in developing orally disintegrating systems has been aimed at investigating different excipients as well as techniques to meet these challenges. Acyclovir is an antiviral drug used for the treatment of herpes simplex virus (HSV), mainly HSV-1 and HSV-2 and varicella zoster virus. It is a BCS class III drug. Hence an orally disintegrating tablet formulation of acyclovir was prepared by direct compression and wet granulation techniques after incorporating superdisintegrants croscarmellose sodium and sodium starch glycolate. Seven formulations were prepared. Tablet containing sodium starch glycolate showed excellent in vitro dispersion time and drug release as compared to other formulation. After study of seven formulations DT3 showed short dispersion time with maximum drug release in 10 min. It is concluded that fast disintegrating acyclovir tablets could be prepared by direct compression using superdisintegrants.