The significance of variation in extrusion speeds and temperatures on a PEO/PCL blend based matrix for oral drug delivery

The body of work described in this research paper outlines the use of PEO/PCL blends in the production of monolithic matrices for oral drug delivery. Several batches of matrix material were prepared with carvedilol used as the active pharmaceutical ingredient. The matrices were prepared using various extrusion parameters to investigate the effect of screw speed and barrel temperature on the properties of the drug delivery devices. The resultant extrudate was characterised using steady state parallel plate rheometry, differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) and dissolution testing. Higher screw speeds were observed to result in slightly lower matrix melt viscosity when compared with matrices compounded using lower screw speeds. Dissolution testing showed that the incorporation of the hydrophobic PCL polymer into a PEO matrix results in a retarded drug release profile.