Development of Multiparticulate Oral Dosage Form of Zopiclone

The aim of the present study is to develop and evaluate immediate release zopiclone pellets by using the extrusion-spheronization technique for treatment of insomnia. Immediate release pellets of zopiclone were prepared by using sodium starch glycolate (SSG) and HPMC E-5 as disintegrant and binder respectively along with microcrystalline cellulose (MCC) as a spheronizing aid, corn starch and lactose (monohydrate)as fillers. Pellet formulation was further optimized for disintegration time and percent drug release after 45 min. using 32 factorial design. There was no interaction between drug and polymer by FT-IR study. The zopiclone pellets batch (F7) prepared with SSG (4%) and HPMC E-5 (2%) spheronized at 850 RPM was found to be optimized. The optimized batch showed narrow particle size, less disintegration time and immediate drug release of 94.8% after 45 min. For treatment of insomnia, immediate release zopiclone pellets formulated in this study, can serve as an alternative to tablet dosage form.