Abstract

The effect of two surfactants, sodium lauryl sulfate (SLS) and Tween 80, on the aqueous solubility and dissolution rate of nimesulide from tablets, formulated employing starch paste and polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP) as binders, was studied. A marked increase in the solubility as well as dissolution rate of nimesulide was observed with both the surfactants. When there was no surfactant tablets formulated employing PVP as binder exhibited higher dissolution rates than those formulated with starch paste as binder. Incorporation of SLS and Tween 80 in the tablets formulated with starch paste as binder has markedly enhanced the dissolution rate of nimesulide. An 8.85 and 8.17 fold increase in the dissolution rate was observed with SLS and Tween 80 respectively. In the case of tablets formulated with PVP as binder, there was only a marginal increase in the dissolution rate when these surfactants were incorporated. Dissolution of nimesulide from the tablet formulations followed first order kinetics.