Parametric simulation of drug release from hydrogel-based matrices

Objectives In this work a model recently proposed to describe the drug release from hydrogel‐based matrices was applied to describe the fractional drug release from matrices based on hydroxypropylmethylcellulose (HPMC) and diclofenac. Methods The model, firstly proposed to describe the behaviour of systems based on HPMC and theophylline and a single set of preparation variables, is based on mass balances and transport phenomena evaluation and it was solved by an FEM‐based numerical code. The experimental data on the HPMC–diclofenac matrices, taken from literature, have been obtained by varying the drug loading ratio, the compression force, the powder size of both the drug and the polymer. Key findings A good agreement between experimental data and model predictions, as calculated in the present work, was obtained without the use of any adjustable parameters. Conclusions The predictive nature of the model has been confirmed, even changing the drug molecule and other preparative parameters.