Background and Aim:Telmisartan (TEL) is an angiotensin II receptor blocker (ARB) antihypertensive agent. The aim of the present investigation was to develop a self-nanoemulsifying drug delivery system (SNEDDS) to enhance the oral bioavailability of poorly water soluble TEL.Materials and Methods:The solubility of TEL in various oils was determined to identify the oil phase of a SNEDDS. Various surfactants and co-surfactants were screened for their ability to emulsify the selected oil. Pseudoternary phase diagrams were constructed to identify the efficient self-emulsifying region. A SNEDDS was further evaluated for its percentage transmittance, emulsification time, drug content, phase separation, dilution, droplet size, zeta potential, pH, refractive index, and viscosity.Results:The developed SNEDDS formulation contained TEL (20 mg), Tween® 20 (43.33%w/w), Carbitol® (21.67%w/w), and Acrysol® EL 135 (32%w/w). The optimized formulation of the TEL-loaded SNEDDS exhibited a complete in vitro drug release in 15 min as compared with the plain drug, which had a limited dissolution rate. It was also compared with the pure drug suspension by oral administration in male Wister rats. The in vivo study exhibited a 7.5-fold increase in the oral bioavailability of TEL from the SNEDDS compared with the pure drug suspension.Conclusions:These results suggest the potential use of the SNEDDS to improve the dissolution and oral bioavailability of poorly water soluble TEL.

A simple, sensitive, specific, spectrophotometric method was developed for the detection of Olmesartan medoxomil (OLM) in bulk and pharmaceutical formulations. The optimum conditions for the analysis of the drug were established. OLM was subjected to stress degradation under different conditions recommended by the International Conference on Harmonization (ICH). The samples so generated were used for degradation studies using the developed method. The λmax of the OLM was found to be 257 nm. The method exhibited high sensitivity, with linearity, in the 2 to 20 μg/ml range. The lower limit of detection and the limit of quantification were found to be 1.012 μg/ml and 3.036 μg/ml, respectively. All the calibration curves demonstrated a linear relationship between the absorbance and concentration, with the correlation coefficient higher than 0.99. The regression equation of the curve was Y = 0.0579x + 0.0006. The precision of the method was found to be 40.043 ± 0.067 against the label claim of 40 mg. The percentage recovery was found to be 101.32 ± 0.452. The sample solution was stable for up to two hours. Hence, it could be concluded that the proposed method would be suitable for the analysis of OLM in bulk and pharmaceutical formulations.