DEVELOPMENT AND EVALUATION OF DROTOVERINE TASTE MASKED TABLETS WITH IMPROVED DISSOLUTION EFFICIENCY USING SOLID DISPERSION TECHNIQUE
The purpose of this research is to mask the bitter taste of the drug, Drotoverine using solid dispersion technique. The taste-masked drug is formulated in to a conventional tablet by direct compression method for ease of administration. Taste masking was done by solid dispersion using polymer such as urea and mannitol by melting/fusion method Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) were performed to identify the physicochemical interaction between drug and carrier, hence its effect on dissolution. Conventional taste masked tablets were evaluated for weight variation, disintegration time, hardness and friability. In vitro drug release studies were performed for conventional tablets of drotoverine. Bitterness score was evaluated on volunteers. FTIR spectroscopy and SEM showed no interaction between drug and carriers. Conventional tablets prepared using solid dispersion, showed faster disintegration and complete bitter taste masking of drotoverine. In addition the prepared tablets exhibited better dissolution profile. Taste evaluation of taste masked tablets in human volunteers rated tasteless with a score of 0. Thus, results conclusively demonstrated successful masking of taste and oral disintegration of the formulated tablets in the oral cavity with improved dissolution.
Design and evaluation of taste masked Drotaverine HCl orodispersible tabletsusing polymethacrylate polymers
The objective of this present study was to mask the intensely bitter taste of drotaverine hydrochloride and to formulate orodispersible tablet. Taste masking was done by complexing drotaverine HCl with polymethacrylate polymers (Eudragit E100 and Eudragit RD100) by solvent evaporation technique. The drug: polymer ratio was (1:10) with drug content 40mg. The granules of two optimized drug-polymer complexes (DPCs) were tested for packing and flow properties. These granules were compressed into tablets and evaluated for hardness, friability, drug content, wetting, in vitro disintegration time and in vitro taste in simulated salivary fluid (SSF) of pH 6.2. Their dissolution profiles (i.e. F1 and F2) were compared with commercial formulation (MKT). The optimized formulations were further characterized with Fourier-Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FTIR) to investigate any interactions between the drug and the added excipients. The granules of the optimized DPCs were free flowing with angle of repose <280. The DPCs tablets (i.e. F1 and F2) had hardness and friability values of ≥ 4kg/cm2 and <0.9% respectively. These tablets disintegrated rapidly (<75sec) with a wetting time of ≤22sec. It also showed rapid drug release in stimulated gastric fluid (SGF) compared with marketed formulation. For instance, the maximum release of drotaverine hydrochloride in F1, F2 and MKT were achieved in 30, 15 and 90mins respectively. Taste evaluation of the DPCs tablets (F1 and F2) in human volunteers revealed considerable taste masking with the degree of bitterness below threshold value. There were also no drug/excipient interactions. This study shows the suitability of polymethacrylate polymers (Eudragit E100 and Eudragit RD100) in masking the bitter taste of orodispersible tablets of drotaverine HCl.
Gender Pay Gap in the European Union Labor Market
The participation of women in the European Union labor market has been increasing over recent years, putting an end to the notion that women are a marginal part of the labor force. However, such increased integration of women into paid work has neither ended the traditional gender divide between jobs nor it translated into gender equality in terms of economic opportunity and economic participation in the labor market. The purpose of the paper is to briefly discuss the gender pay gap in the EU labor market. The paper defines gender pay gap and provides a brief theoretical overview of the underlying causes of such pay asymmetry between men and women. Statistics provided for EU 25 reveal that the current policy attempts to reduce such a gender asymmetry still lack improvement in practice. The paper concludes with selected policy suggestions aiming to make a progress in the issue of the gender equality in pay.