Development of Sustained Release Pellets of Salbutamol Sulphate

Sustained release pellets dosage form is increasingly becoming popular in recent time. Both physicians and patients prefer these types of dosage forms because of some unique features of sustained release pellets.One of them is its ability to withstand the risk of dose dumping which may occur in case of a single coated or matrix tablet and thereby reduces the risk of associated side-effects. Along with many other advantages, pellet dosage form has less dependence on gastric emptying, which ultimately leads to less chance of therapeutic failure.Salbutamol sulphate is a bronchodilator.Patients with asthma suffer from its night-time complications called nocturnal asthma. Our aim was to develop a sustained release preparation of salbutamol sulphate to treat this condition.Our study was aimed to evaluate the effect of various sustained release polymeric coating materials (Surelease®, Eudragit® RS, and Kollicoat® SR 30D) on the release kinetics of salbutamol sulphate from the coated pellets. Our study was also focused on the effect of curing (at 60ºC) on the release kinetics of salbutamol sulphate.