Numerical Modelling of Drug Release from 2D HPMC-Matrices

The article considers numerical modelling of drug release from HPMC-matrices assuming the main controlling processes are diffusion of water and drug and swelling of the matrix. A detailed mathematical description of matrix swelling, connected with the free boundary conditions of the arisen model problem, is introduced. A numerical approach to solution of the posed nonlinear 2D problem is developed on the basis of finite element domain approximation and time difference method. It is implemented in noncommercial software which is used for numerical simulation of fractional drug release under various shapes and sizes of the tablets. This investigation of the effect of aspect ratio (radius/height) and sizes of HPMC tablets on drug release is an inexpensive and effective tool to modify the release kinetics. The proposed numerical approach enables further generalization of the model and performing more profound investigations of the effect of the initial drug loading, matrix erosion and type of release medium.