Abstract

The mechanism of absorption of propranolol hydrochloride through porcine buccal mucosa was evaluated. A special punch was designed and fabricated to prepare the novel buccal adhesive core-in-cup tablet. The tablets were evaluated for weight uniformity, friability, hardness, swelling, mucoadhesion strength, in vitro drug release, stability and in vivo acceptability. Swelling increases with increase in the concentration of HPMC K4M in tablets. The mucoadhesive strength of the tablets varied when different biological membranes used for the studies. Maximum mucoadhesive strength was observed for tablets containing carbopol 934 P and HPMC K4M at the ratio of 1:1 followed by 1:2, 0:1 and 1:0. Mechanism and order drug release from the tablets was by non- Fickian diffusion and first order kinetics, respectively. Propranolol hydrochloride was stable in buffer solutions having pH 6.0-7.0, normal human saliva and at accelerated temperature. In vivo studies indicated that tablet was comfortable in the oral cavity, not heavy, did not dislodge from the site of attachment and not caused any side effects.