Abstract
The Effects Of Polymers And Permeation Enhancers On Releases Of Flurbiprofen From Gel Formulations
Flurbiprofen appears to be more active as an antiinflammatory agent than other NSAID products and is usually well tolerated. Gels have gained more and more importance because the gel-based formulations are better percutaneously absorbed than creams and ointment bases. Therefore, flurbiprofen gel formulations were made with different polymers like carbopol940 (0.6-1.2%) and hydroxy propyl methyl cellulose (HPMC) (1.0-4.0%) containing various permeation enhancers namely sodium lauryl sulphate (SLS) (0.25-1.0%) and dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO) (5-20%) at different proportions, having 1% concentration of drug. The formulated gels were evaluated for drug content, pH, viscosity and in vitro release through the Sigma membrane. Its physical stability was evaluated by freeze-thaw cycling. Selected formulations were evaluated for its antiinflammatory activity using the carrageenin-induced paw edema in rats. The physical stability study revealed that the carbopol 940 gels were highly stable and the gels with HPMC were physically unstable. The carbopol with 15% of DMSO showed best in vitro release of flurbiprofen. In vivo study for the selected formulation showed significant (P<0.001) antiinflammatory activity in the carrageenin-induced paw edema in rat.