Assessment of physicochemical properties and comparison of the dissolution profile of amoxicillin caplets

Background: Marketed drugs must meet the required standards to guarantee product quality. Amoxicillin is a generic compound marketed under various trademarks as copy drugs. Amoxicillin caplets are an immediate release dosage form of BCS class I. An essential aspect of evaluating copy drugs is to assess the equivalence for their treatment to the innovator drugs to ensure the safety and effectiveness of the circulating copy drugs. Objective: The study aims to evaluate the physicochemical properties and compare the dissolution profile of amoxicillin caplets available in the market. Methods: Five amoxicillin caplet products, four test products, and one reference product were tested for their physicochemical properties and dissolution. The dissolution test was carried out with a type II device at a speed of 75 rpm in 900 mL of media buffered at pH 1.2, 4.5, and 6.8 and at a temperature of 37 +/- 0.5degrees celcius. The dissolution profile was analyzed by comparing it with the similarity factor (f2) parameters. Results: Two of the four amoxicillin caplet products had a similar dissolution profile to the reference products, namely products A and B. Products C and D were dissimilar because f2 was lower than 50 at pH 4.5. The caplets tested had almost the same dimensions, and all caplets met the requirements for uniformity of content, hardness, disintegration time, and dissolution. Conclusion: Not all of the amoxicillin caplets in the market have a similar dissolution profile to the reference products. Keywords: caplets, amoxicillin, dissolution, similarity factor