Advanced formulation design of venlafaxine hydrochloride coated and triple-layer tablets containing hypromellose

The purpose of this research work was to develop venlafaxine hydrochloride-coated and layered matrix tablets using hypromellose adopting wet granulation technique. The granules and the tablets were characterized. The monolithic tablets were coated with different ratios of ethyl cellulose and hypromellose. The in vitro dissolution study was performed in distilled water. In the layered tablets, the middle layer containing drug was covered with barrier layers containing high viscosity grade hypromellose. Simplex lattice design was used for formulating the layered tablets. The dissolution study of the optimized batches and a reference product was carried out in 0.1 N HCl, phosphate buffer and hydroalcoholic solution. Burst drug release was exhibited by the uncoated tablets, probably due to high aqueous solubility of venlafaxine HCl. The coated tablets showed sustained drug release without burst effect. The drug release was best explained by Weibull model. A unified Weibull equation was evolved to express drug release from the coated tablets. The layered tablets also exhibited sustained release without burst effect due to effective area reduction. The optimized batches showed identical drug release in 0.1 N HCl, phosphate buffer and 10% v/v aqueous alcohol. Layered tablets may well be adopted by the industry due to the possibility of achieving a high production rate.