Objective: The aim of present investigation was to prepare liquisolid compacts of high dose water insoluble drug, carbamazepine (CBZ) using novel porous carriers such as Neusilin and Fujicalin in order to improve its dissolution rate and reduce the tablet weight. Materials and Methods: Solubility of CBZ was determined in different non volatile solvents to finalise vehicle having maximum solubility. The liquid retention potential (ф) of carriers and coating material was determined and 18 different liquisolid compacts of CBZ were formulated. The prepared liquisolid compacts were evaluated and compared for thickness, diameter, weight variation, uniformity of content, hardness, friability, disintegration and in vitro dissolution. Dissolution profile of liquisolid compacts was compared with marketed tablet formulation. Results and Discussion: The solubility of CBZ in polyethylene glycol 200 was found to be greater than the other solvents. Neusilin showed higher ф value than traditional carriers. Formulated liquisolid compacts showed all physical parameters within prescribed limit. Formulation containing Neusilin-Neusilin and Neusilin- Aerosil showed no disintegration while all other formulations showed disintegration up to 180 seconds. All the formulations showed drug release above 80% at the end of 15 minutes except marketed formulation. The weight of formulations containing Neusilin and Fujicalin ranged in between 0.383-0.947g. Formulation FA3 containing Fujicalin exhibited lower mean dissolution time and higher dissolution efficiency than all other formulations including marketed tablet. Conclusion: It can be concluded from this study that novel porous carriers are superior to traditional carriers in liquisolid systems and are suitable for loading high dose drugs like CBZ.
Key words: Avicel, Carbamazepine, Dissolution enhancement, Fujicalin, Liquisolid compact, Neusilin.