The objective of the present work was to enhance the solubility and dissolution rate of the drug raloxifene HCl (RLX), which is poorly soluble in water. The solubility of RLX was observed to increase with increasing concentration of hydroxypropyl methylcellulose (HPMC E5 LV). The optimized ratio for preparing a solid dispersion (SD) of RLX with HPMC E5 LV using the microwave-induced fusion method was 1:5 w/w. Microwave energy was used to prepare SDs. HPMC E5 LV was used as a hydrophilic carrier to enhance the solubility and dissolution rate of RLX. After microwave treatment, the drug and hydrophilic polymer are fused together, and the drug is converted from the crystalline form into an amorphous form. This was confirmed through scanning electron microscopy (SEM), differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) and powder X-ray diffraction (PXRD) studies. These results suggested that the microwave method is a simple and efficient method of preparing SDs. The solubility and dissolution rate of the SDs were increased significantly compared with pure RLX due to the surfactant and wetting properties of HPMC E5 LV and the formation of molecular dispersions of the drug in HPMC E5 LV. It was concluded that the solubility and dissolution rate of RLX are increased significantly when an SD of the drug is prepared using the microwave-induced fusion method.
Raloxifene HCl; Microwave-induced fusion method; Solid dispersion; Solubility enhancement; HPMC E5 LV
