The aim of the present study was to characterize various mucoadhesive polymer combinations, viz. Carbopol 934, Hydroxy Propyl Methyl Cellulose (HPMC)-E15, Sodium Alginate and optimize the best polymer combination based on the mucoadhesive strength and Wash off period using a factorial design for two factors at two levels. A series of formulations with varied ratios of the above polymers were prepared by keeping the total weight of tablets constant. The tablets were tested for mucoadhesive strength using modified digital balance apparatus. The wash off test was performed using modified USP tablet disintegration test apparatus at 37ºC. The force of detachment and the time of detachment were considered as main parameters. From the results obtained, formulation F10 was chosen as the best formulation with 3hr 53min detachment time. Formulation F10 was optimized using two level two factor factorial design, as a good model to predict the effect of various factors like the ratio of Carbopol to HPMC ‘Factor A’ and the ratio of HPMC to Sodium alginate ‘Factor B’. From the design M2 formulation which has coded level of -1 and +1 for considered factors A and B with the maximum mucoadhesive strength of 40 gm and wash off period of 4hr 10min was optimized as the best formulation.
