The objective of the present work was to investigate the effect of various
hydrophilic polymers like hydroxypropylmethyl cellulose, methyl cellulose,
carboxymethyl cellulose and poly vinyl alcohol on the in vitro dissolution
property of ibuprofen (IBU) crystallized from aqueous polymeric solutions.
By using solvent-change technique, IBU crystal products were produced in
presence of the selected polymers. Results showed that in presence of
polymers; crystallization yield of IBU was higher than that of pure drug
crystal (absence of polymer). SEM photographs revealed visible changes in
the crystal morphology in the presence of polymers. The FTIR spectra of the
crystallized IBU (polymer-treated) showed a shifting of the acid-dimer peak
from 1718 cm-1 to 1721 cm-1 but absence of specific peaks for polymers. XRD
study further confirmed absence of polymers in the crystallized IBU as no
specific peaks were observed for the polymers. A higher percentage of
cumulative drug release was reported for the polymeric-treated IBU crystals
than that of plain IBU. Further in vivo studies are warranted to establish
the in vitro-in vivo correlation for the future technology transfer of the
formulation.