Use of Stable Isotopes for Evaluation of Drug Delivery Systems: Comparison of Ibuprofen Release in Vivo and in Vitro from Two Biphasic Release Formulations Utilizing Different Rate-Controlling Polymers

Certain delivery systems are intended to release the active ingredient in different phases to obtain the desired therapeutic effect. For these formulations, such as a bilayer tablet, it is desirable to distinguish and measure the release of drug from the different phases simultaneously. Mass spectrometric methods were developed to measure three ibuprofen isotopomers in serum and two in dissolution fluid. The analytical methods were linear (r 0.992) over the concentration range of interest and recovery was greater than 99.2% for all isotopomers. Coadministration of ²H₀]ibuprofen, ²H₄]ibuprofen, and ²H₇]ibuprofen to male beagles demonstrated that the isotopomers were bioequivalent and verified the absence of any kinetic isotope effect due to deuterium incorporation (p = 0.286). These methods were then used to evaluate a bilayer tablet formulation composed of an immediate release layer of 100 mg ²H₄]ibuprofen and a sustained release layer with a drug load of 300 mg ²H₀]ibuprofen. Two different rate-controlling polymer matrices that provided similar in vitro dissolution profiles were compared in the sustained release phase, while the immediate release formulation remained the same. In male beagles, the HPMC matrix delivered a significantly greater amount of ibuprofen (p < 0.05). The AUC was threefold greater for HPMC (1067 ± 437 nmole * h/ml) versus EUDRAGIT^® (320 ± 51), and C_max was nearly four times greater (145 ± 62.1 nmole/ml for HPMC versus 37.9 ± 14.4 for EUDRAGIT^®). Although T_max for HPMC (3.4 ± 1.9 h) lagged behind EUDRAGIT^® (2.0 ± 0.82 h), the difference was not significant (p > 0.05). The immediate release layer was absorbed to the same extent as an oral solution (containing ²H₇]ibuprofen) that was administered concomitantly with the bilayer tablet. Using the stable isotope markers also demonstrated that the release rates of the two layers were independent of each other, both in vivo and in vitro. Stable isotope techniques are a useful tool in the development of biphasic release formulations since they can be used to determine proper drug load of each phase as well as the appropriate rate of release.