Investigation of the effect of various shellac coating compositions containing different water-soluble polymers on in vitro drug release.

In this study drug pellets were coated with aqueous shellac coating formulations containing different amounts of polyvinyl alcohol (PVA), hydroxypropyl methylcellulose (HPMC), and carbomer 940. The coating level needed for enteric coating was determined. The influence of different amounts of PVA, HPMC, and carbomer on drug release and mechanism; the porosity, and the stability of shellac coatings was investigated. The results show that the incorporation of different concentrations of HPMC into shellac coatings, due to the increasing of pores, could considerably increase the drug release from the pellets in purified water. Moreover, the swelling effect of carbomer 940 leads to much more diffusivity through shellac coatings in water. In addition, PVA results in small cracking in the films and much more diffusion of drug in water. Furthermore, all coating systems containing different hydrophilic polymers that were used in the present work could prevent the dissolution of drug in simulated gastric juice for 2 hours. On the other hand, a rapid and complete release of drug within 45 minutes was observed in simulated intestinal fluid. Drug release from shellac coated pellets and ones containing different amounts of carbomer was affected between 3-6 months, whereas shellac coatings containing different amounts of PVA or HPMC show the same dissolution profiles with small deviation after 12 months.