Papers of the Week

Migraine is a throbbing condition, usually associated with nausea and vomiting and requires concurrent administration of anti-migraine along with anti-emetic therapy. The current study was undertaken with an aim to fabricate fast dissolving oral strips (FDOSs) containing Sumatriptan succinate (anti-migraine) and Metoclopramide HCl (anti-emetic) in combination without involving any superdisintegrant. Hydrophilic polymer polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) was used alone with three concentrations of 100, 125, and 150 mg using variable concentrations of glycerol. The solvent casting technique was employed to formulate FDOSs and were evaluated for surface morphology, mechanical properties, surface pH, % moisture content, disintegration time (DT), total dissolving time (TDT), drug contents, and dissolution profile. PVA (150 mg) with 5% glycerol concentration gave best formulation results. FDOSs have exhibited good tensile strength with smooth and uniform surface morphology. DT was ranged from 7.7 to 28 s; while TDT was from 26.4 to 77.6 s. Both polymer and plasticizer concentrations were found to be influencing the characteristics of the strips. Dissolution studies were carried out in distilled water for 15 min and all the formulations have shown released more than 50% drug within first 2 min thereby highlighting the usefulness of FDOSs for the delivery of both drugs in combination significantly. Optimized combination of ingredients was found to be suitable for the formulation of FDOSs for simultaneous delivery of Metoclopramide HCl and Sumatriptan succinate.