Formulation and development of floating capsules of celecoxib: in vitro and in vivo evaluation

The objective of the present study was to develop a hydrodynamically balanced system for celecoxib as single-unit floating capsules. Various grades of low-density polymers were used for formulation of these capsules. The capsules were prepared by physical blending of celecoxib and the polymer in varying ratios. The formulation was optimized on the basis of in vitro buoyancy and in vitro release in citrate phosphate buffer pH 3.0 (with 1% sodium lauryl sulfate). Capsules prepared with polyethylene oxide 60K and Eudragit RL100 gave the best in vitro percentage release and were used as the optimized formulation. By fitting the data into zero-order, first-order, and Higuchi models, we concluded that the release followed zero-order kinetics, as the correlation coefficient (R value) was higher for zero-order release. For gamma scintigraphy studies, celecoxib was radiolabeled with technetium-99m by the stannous reduction method. To achieve the maximum labeling efficiency the process was optimized by studying the reaction at various pH conditions and stannous concentration levels. The radiolabeled complex was added to the optimized capsule, and dissolution studies were performed to ensure that there was no leaching of radioactivity from the capsules. Gamma imaging was performed in rabbits to assess the buoyancy of the optimized formulation. The optimized formulation remained buoyant during 5 hours of gamma scintigraphic studies in rabbits.