Pharmaceutical and biopharmaceutical quality of a sustained release carbamazepine preparation: a contribution to quality assurance.

Side effects observed during treatment with non-sustained release carbamazepine preparations are often due to the steep rise in plasma carbamazepine concentrations. To maintain plasma levels with only minor fluctuations between narrow limits, sustained release formulations have been developed which release the active constituent at a constant rate which is not too high. Bioavailability tests (single dosage, crossover design) and several investigations into the dissolution profile were carried out on three test batches of a sustained release carbamazepine preparation (Timonil 300 retard). The aim was a release model which, in the context of quality assurance, would not only facilitate reliable statements with regard to batch conformity, but would also be validated in respect of pharmacokinetic parameters such as rate of absorption and bioavailability. Correlations between mean dissolution times (MDT) and mean absorption times (MAT) at level B were found [Skelly et al. 1990]. A dissolution test differing from the pharmacopoeial tests was selected, which permitted the assessment of both batch conformity and biopharmaceutical batch quality.