Properties of solid dispersions of piroxicam in polyvinylpyrrolidone

Solid dispersions of piroxicam were prepared with polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP) K-17 PF and PVP K-90 by solvent method. The physical state and drug:PVP interaction of solid dispersions and physical mixtures were characterized by X-ray diffraction, Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy and differential scanning calorimetry (DSC). FTIR analysis demonstrated the presence of intermolecular hydrogen bonding between piroxicam and PVP in solid dispersions. These interactions reflected the changes in crystalline structures of piroxicam. The amorphousness within the PVP moeity might be predicted in piroxicam dispersions by the disappearance of N-H or O-H peak of piroxicam. Dissolution studies indicated a significant increase in dissolution of piroxicam when dispersed in PVP. The better results were obtained with the lower molecular weight PVP K-17 than with higher molecular weight PVP K-90. The non-amorphous solid dispersions in PVP K-17 showed almost equally fast dissolution rates to amorphous dispersions in PVP K-90. The mechanism of dissolution of solid dispersion in PVP K-90 is predominantly diffusion-controlled due to the very high viscosity of PVP K-90. Dissolution was maximum with the amorphous solid dispersions containing drug:PVP K-17 1:5 and 1:6 which showed a 40-fold increase in dissolution in 5 min as compared with pure drug.