Ketoprofen is a potent non-steroidal anti-inflammatory,
analgesic, and antipyretic drug used for treatment of various
rheumatic diseases and painful conditions. It is rapidly absorbed
regardless the route of administration. Its half life is only 1-2 hrs
after oral administration. The aim of this work was to formulate
some controlled release oral dosage forms containing ketoprofen.
Cellulose acetate was chosen for this purpose. Ketoprofen-cellulose
acetate microcapsules were prepared by solvent evaporation
technique. Polyvinyl alcohol was used as an emulsifier. The
prepared microcapsules were evaluated in terms of their release
and surface characteristics. Also, the anti-inflammatory activity of
ketoprofen was evaluated using the carrageenan-induced rat's pawedema method. The release of ketoprofen from the microcapsules
was pH dependant and decreased by increasing the polymer
content and by increasing the organic phase volume. The particle
size of the produced microcapsules was decreased by increasing
the volume of organic phase, whereas it was increased by
increasing the polymer content. In conclusion, these results
suggested that microencapsulation of ketoprofen using cellulose
acetate could be a useful approach for controlled release of the
drug.