Inclusion of ketoprofen with skimmed milk by freeze-drying

Ketoprofen is a non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug which is not soluble in water and creates gastrointestinal problems. In order to improve the solubility of the drug in water and enhance its dissolution rate, physical mixture (PM) and inclusion (IC) of ketoprofen with skimmed milk (SM) were prepared and investigated. Enhancement of solubility of ketoprofen was obtained by preparing its IC with SM which can be used because of its amino acid and surface active agents content and can also be used for treatment of gastric disturbance. Lyophilization technique was used to prepare the IC. Results obtained showed that the solubility of IC of ketoprofen with SM was almost four times greater than the solubility of the plain drug. Data from the dissolution rate determination have also indicated that IC of ketoprofen with SM significantly improved the dissolution rate of the drug compared with PM and the plain form. Differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), X-ray powder diffraction and scanning electron microscopic (SEM) analysis revealed the formation of IC of ketoprofen with SM.