Abstract

In the present work, orodispersible tablets of meloxicam were designed with a view to enhance patient compliance. A combination of super-disintegrants i.e., sodium starch glycolate- croscarmellose sodium or sodium starch glycolate-crospovidone were used along with directly compressible mannitol to enhance mouth feel. The prepared batches of tablets were evaluated for hardness, friability, drug content uniformity, wetting time, water absorption ratio and in vitro dispersion time. Based on in vitro dispersion time (approximately 10 s), two formulations (one from each batch) were tested for in vitro drug release pattern (in pH 6.8 phosphate buffer), short-term stability (at 45º for 3 w) and drug-excipient interaction (IR spectroscopy). Among the two formulations, the formulation prepared by direct compression method using 2% w/w sodium starch glycolate and 1.5% w/w croscarmellose sodium was found to be a better formulation (t 50% = 22 min) based on the in vitro drug release characteristics compared to conventional commercial tablet formulation (t 50% = 68 min). Short-term stability studies on the formulations indicated that there are no significant changes in drug content and in vitro dispersion time (P<0.05).