In vitro comparative quality assessment of different brands of ciprofloxacin tablets available in Iraq

Abstract

Background: The in vitro quality assessment of different brands of the same drugs is essential in preventing substandard or counterfeit products, especially in developing countries, including Iraq. Ciprofloxacin, which is a fluoroquinolone antibiotic, is used in the management of different types of infections. Objectives: In vitro comparative quality assessment of ciprofloxacin tablets for five different pharmaceutical companies. Methods: The present study compared five quality control parameters, including weight variation, hardness, thickness, diameter, and disintegration time of the five different brands of ciprofloxacin HCl 500 mg available in Iraq. Results: All five brands tested complied with the specifications for the quality tests except Brand B, which failed to comply with the requirements of the weight variation test. The average weight variation results ranged from 0.7319 g to 0.77265 g. The average hardness results ranged from 15.59 kp to 28.2 kp. The average thickness and diameter results ranged from 5.289 mm to 6.297 mm and 17.177 mm to 19.279 mm, respectively. All the brands showed disintegration times between 2.38 minutes to 4.46 minutes. Conclusion: The present study revealed that all five brands of ciprofloxacin HCl had complied with the quality control parameters according to pharmacopeial specifications except the weight variation test for Brand B. Also, the present study showed that the price of the brand does not necessarily reflect the quality of the drug. Also, the local Brand C met all the specifications regarding the five quality tests.