Development and characterization of ketoconazole emulgel for topical drug delivery

The aim of the present research work was to investigate the potential of emulgel in enhancing the topical delivery of ketoconazole. Emulgel formulations of Ketoconazole were prepared using 2 types of gelling agents: Carbopol 934 and Carbopol 940. The influence of the type of the gelling agent and the concentration of both the oil phase and emulsifying agent on the drug release from the prepared emulgel was investigated using a 23 factorial design. The prepared emulgel were evaluated for their physical appearance, viscosity, drug release, globule size, skin irritation test, antifungal activity, transmission electron microscopy and stability. Commercially available ketoconazole cream was used for comparison. All the prepared emulgel showed acceptable physical properties concerning color, homogeneity, consistency, spreadability, and pH value. The antifungal activity and drug release were found to be higher for optimized formulation as compared to the marketed ketoconazole cream. The highest activity was observed with F1 and F3, where the percentage inhibition found to be 47.5 ±1.15 % and 46.6 ± 1.34 % respectively, as compared marketed product was found 34.43±1.06 %. The drug release from all the emulgel was found to higher 93.8±0.34 %, 76.2±0.65 % at 24 hr. by diffusion-controlled mechanism. No irritation was observed on the skin of the rabbits. Stability studies showed that the physical appearance, rheological study, in vitro drug release, and antifungal activity in all the prepared emulgel remained unchanged upon storage for 3 months. In general conclusion, it was suggested that the emulgel formulation succeed the drug release for sustained drug delivery in a controlled manner in comparison with cream.

Author(s): Ankur Jain, Surya P Gautam, Yashwant Gupta, Hemant Khambete, Sanjay Jain

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