Novel Lipid based carrier system for Delivery of Pitavastatin Calcium

The aim of this work is to prepare self-micro-emulsifying drug delivery system (SMEDDS) for oral bioavailability enhancement of a poorly water soluble drug, Pitavastatin. Solubility of Pitavastatin was determined in various vehicles. SMEDDS is mixture of surfactants, oils and co-surfactants, which are emulsi¿ed in aqueous media under conditions of digestive motility and gentle agitation that would be take place in the gastro-intestinal (GI) tract. Pseudo-ternary phase diagrams were made to detect the ef¿cient self-emulsi¿cation region and particle size distributions of the resulting micro-emulsions were resolute using a laser diffraction sizer. Optimized formulations for in vitro dissolution and bioavailability assessment were Capmul PG 8, Tween 80 and Transcutol P. The release rate of Pitavastatin from SMEDDS have signi¿cantly higher than the conventional tablet. These suggest the superiority of prepared SMEDDS of Pitavastatin calcium for In-vitro drug release that may further in enhancement of bioavailability. Our studies illustrated the prospective use of SMEDDS for the delivery of hydrophobic compounds, such as Pitavastatin by the oral route.