Design and in vitro evaluation of a bipolymeric delivery device for the amelioration of colonic diseases using a popular glucocorticoid as a model drug.

The present investigation concerns with the development and optimization of a bipolymeric delivery device for the treatment of colonic diseases. Prednisolone - a popular glucorticoid was used a model drug. The formulations were designed with an objective to deliver the drug to the large bowel with a minimal release in the upper part of the gastrointestinal tract. Amount of Eudragit RS100 (X1) and amount of Guar gum (X2) were the two variables used to characterize and optimize the formulation. Three dependant variablescumulative drug release at 60 min (Y60), at 240 min (Y240) and at 480 min (Y480) were considered as optimization factors. The results were analyzed statistically and a p <0.01 was considered to be statistically significant. Three dimensional response surface plots were drawn and the impacts of the independent variables on the chosen variables were analyzed and optimized.