In vitro-in vivo correlation and bioavailability studies of captopril from novel controlled release donut shaped tablet.

A controlled release formulation of captopril which was coated and fabricated into a donut shaped tablet formulation, was investigated in rabbit for pharmacokinetic and in vitro-in vivo correlation studies. Coated donut shaped tablets were prepared and in vitro release was studied in simulated gastric fluid at three different RPMs. New Zealand albino male rabbits have been used as animal model for in vivo study. A sensitive and simple HPLC method was developed for the determination of captopril content in rabbit plasma. In vitro release studies showed that release patterns followed zero order for around 4h. Single oral administration of coated donut shaped tablets in rabbit illustrated retained availability of captopril to the injected drug. Captopril content could pursue the same release pattern over the same time course in in vivo study. The in vivo-in vitro correlation coefficients obtained from point-to-point analysis were greater than 99% between concentrations at certain time points obtained from release study in simulated gastric fluid at different RPMs and HPLC analysis of rabbit's plasma. From the in vitro-in vivo correlation prediction it was evident that the coated donut shaped tablet is a good device for controlled delivery of captopril.