Polysalt flocculates as a physicochemical approach in the development of controlled-release oral pharmaceuticals

In the field of pharmaceutical formulation, polysalt flocculates have received relatively little attention in the literature. Accordingly this investigation could be considered an approach towards the development of oral controlled release dosage forms by polysalt flocculates. The polymer selected for this study was sodium carboxymethylcellulose. This was based on the fact that it forms an insoluble complex with aluminium sulphate, which could be of value in controlling the liberation of the entrapped drug. Drug entrapment was effected by polymeric flocculation, induced by the addition of a physiologically inert electrolyte. Results of this study indicated that this approach provided a physicochemical method for controlling drug release from oral pharmaceuticals, that could be claimed to replace the earlier empirical mechanical methods.