Release of highly water-soluble medicinal compounds from inert, heterogeneous matrixes. I: Physical mixture.

The release from a matrix compressed from a physical mixture of hydrogenated castor oil and ephedrine hydrochloride or procaine hydrochloride has been investigated. The effects on release of the concentration of medicinal compound, particle size of medicinal compound, agitation of dissolution medium, and porosity and tortuosity of the matrix are presented. An attempt is made to fit the experimental data to an acceptable diffusion model.