Molecular information on the dissolution of polydisperse polymers: Mixtures of long and short poly(ethylene oxide)

A systematic study of the dissolution of dry, polydisperse poly(ethylene oxide) (PEO) samples, obtained from mixtures of low-molecular-weight and high-molecular-weight PEO, is described. The findings indicate that the low-molecular-weight/ high-molecular-weight ratio controls the release rate, and the fraction of high-molecular-weight polymers dominates the effect on the overall release rate in mixed PEO tablets.