PROLONGED-RELEASE HARD GELATIN CAPSULES OF FUROSEMIDE FOR THE TREATMENT OF DOGS

The object of this study was to examine whether prolonged-release hard gelatin capsule formulations could be developed for dogs. Different v iscosity grades of hydroxypropyl methylcellulose (HPMC) and sodium car boxymethylcellulose (NaCMC) were used to control drug release. Furosem ide was chosen because of its wide use in the management of heart fail ure in dogs. In vitro, selecting different viscosity grades allowed go od control of drug release, whereas in vivo the difference between for mulations was clearly smaller. Although all formulations gave prolonge d release, both inter- and intra-individual variation in the plasma co ncentration-time curves was high. It is difficult to develop prolonged -release formulations for drugs such as furosemide with highly variabl e pharmacokinetic properties. However, hard gelatin capsules containin g hydrophilic polymers could still be a suitable choice for some drugs .