IN-VIVO EVALUATION OF FLUIDIZED-BED COATED PELLETS

An in vivo comparison of serum theophylline levels resulting from unco ated and coated pellets was made using the beagle dog as an animal mod el. The coated pellets were prepared from an aqueous ethyl cellulose d ispersion (Aquacoat) in the rotary fluidized bed. A relative bioavaila bility of 52% was calculated for the coated pellets. The pharmacokinet ic parameters of theophylline obtained from beagle dog were also deter mined. A significant correlation coefficient of 0.9584 was calculated between in vitro percent theophylline release and percent drug absorbe d in vivo. Finally, it was concluded that the beagle dog model can be reliably used for the in vivo evaluation of controlled release dosage forms.