Dissolution profiles prediction of sinomenine hydrochloride sustained-release tablets using Raman mapping technique

The work aims to explore the feasibility of Raman mapping in predicting the dissolution profiles of solid oral dosage form. In this study, N = 36 batches of representative sinomenine hydrochloride sustained-release tablets were prepared, using a D-optimal design, to introduce adequate variability, and the Raman mapping data of each tablet were acquired. The partial least squares regression models were established using three kinds of different modes, named single point mode, average mode and multi-point mode, to predict the dissolution profiles based on Raman mapping data. The percent dissolutions at specific time points and the parameters of an exponential function, which was employed to fit the dissolution profiles, were predicted, and the accuracy and precision of prediction were tested. The results showed that the multi-point mode displayed the best accuracy and precision in the prediction of both the dissolutions at the specific time points and the function parameters. In summary, the established method based on Raman mapping avoids the shortcomings of traditional dissolution testing protocols, such as complex operation, time-consuming and high analysis cost, thus has great potential of application and popularization.