Abstract

EFFECT OF PARTICLE SIZE OF OKRA GUM AS A SUSPENDING AGENT ON SOME PHYSICOCHEMICAL PROPERTIES OF RECONSTITUTED DRY PARACETAMOL SUSPENSION

Vincent Obaga Nyandoro* and Joshua Ikoni Ogaji

ABSTRACT

Objective: The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of particle size of okra gum as a suspending agent on the physicochemical properties of oral dry paracetamol suspension. Materials and Methods: Batches of pediatric paracetamol (125 mg/ 5 mL) dry suspension powder containing okra gum particles undersize 180, 250 and 355 μm were formulated for reconstitution. Similar batches of paracetamol dry suspension were made using tragacanth gum as a suspending agent to provide a basis for comparison. Some physicochemical properties of the paracetamol suspensions such as sedimentation volume, viscosity, redispersibility, degree of flocculation and dissolution rate profile were evaluated. Results: The results showed that the physicochemical properties differed among the batches of the paracetamol dry suspension and were influenced by particle size of the suspending agent. Discussion: Although all the samples met the dissolution profile requirements by releasing more than 80 % of the content within 30 minutes, there were obvious differences in the viscosities of the samples that may influence the acceptability and compliance by the patients to therapy. The study showed that particle sizes of okra gum used in the formulations were responsible for the observed characteristics. Conclusion: Among the three okra gum samples, particles undersize 180 μm yielded paracetamol suspension with desirable physicochemical properties thus implying that there is an optimum particle size of suspending agents that should be used in a suspension. Therefore, when ascertaining the quality of a dry suspension, particle size of the suspending agent is critical as it affects the physicochemical properties of a suspension.

Keywords: Particle size, Suspending gent, Physicochemical properties, Oral dry suspension, Paracetamol.