Preparation and Evaluation of Extemporaneously Compounded Aspirin Capsules from Crushed Aspirin Tablets

Aims: Extemporaneous preparations of medications might bring about technical and clinical consequences due to formulation failures. Therefore, all such prepared formulas should undergo valid and reliable procedures supported by solid data. Otherwise, patients can experience significant risk due to microbial contamination or physical or chemical changes during the preparation process. Thus, effective extemporaneous preparation relies on correct calculations to avoid extra and serious harm. Therefore, because 50-mg aspirin capsules are not available in Saudi Arabia, this study aimed to formulate 50-mg capsules from available 100-mg aspirin tablets.

Methodology: Quality control tests of the preparations were carried out at the time of preparation and after one month of storage at 25 °C and at 40 °C and 75% relative humidity. All tests were carried out according to the British and United States pharmacopeia monograph of aspirin.

Results: The drug content assay and uniformity test indicated that the aspirin capsules were within the pharmacopeial limits. The disintegration time for all aspirin capsules was within the pharmacopeial limits of 30 minutes. The aspirin release profile showed that approximately 90% of the aspirin dissolved after 10 minutes.

Conclusion: The results indicated that the extemporaneous preparation of ASA capsules complied with the quality control tests for freshly prepared capsules and after one month of storage at room temperature and at 40 °C and 75% relative humidity. The dissolution profile of these capsules indicates immediate and high release of ASA, which is essential to ensure the required absorption. This study is of great importance for patients who need to take this dose of ASA. Pharmacists can prepare good-quality capsules with the desired ASA content using a 100-mg ASA tablet as a source of the active ingredient.