DISSOLUTION STUDY OF PROLONGED RELEASE MORPHINE TABLETS USING HYDROPHILIC MATRICES

This study presents the results of ''in vitro'' dissolution of prolong ed release morphine tablets using hydroxypropylmethylcellulose. Tablet s with four different doses were elaborated and the liberation from th ese formulated tablets was compared with that of the only commercial p harmaceutical preparation of this type registered in the Spanish Pharm aceutical Market. The results of the dissolution tests show that the d rug was gradually released in all cases and tablets had released from 60 to 90% of its contents after 8 hours. In the comparative study, the commercial tablets showed the fastest release. In both cases the rele ase rate was lower when artificial intestinal fluids were used as the dissolution medium.