FORMULATION OF KETOCONAZOLE LOADED NANO DISPERSIVE GEL USING SWOLLEN MICELLES TECHNIQUE AND ITS IN VITRO CHARACTERIZATION

Objective: The objective of the present work was to formulate and characterize nano dispersive gel (NDG) for topical delivery of water-insoluble antifungal agent ketoconazole in order to enhance its solubility, penetration through the skin and antifungal activity. Methods: Nano dispersion of the drug was first prepared by swollen micelles technique (SMT) using tween 80 and chloroform which is then incorporated into the gel using carbopol 934. Ten formulations of ketoconazole loaded NDG was prepared and characterized for different physicochemical parameters like homogeneity, pH, spreadability, extrudability, practical yield, drug content, in vitro drug release, ex vivo permeation study, and biological parameter antifungal activity. Results: The formulated topical preparation exhibit pH in the range of 6.5 to 7.4, and unveiled excellent homogeneity, spreadability and extrudability. Out of 10 formulations, formulation F4 showed maximum drug content of 95.56±1.13% and practical yield of 97.23±0.51%. The in vitro drug release studies were performed using pH 7.4 phosphate buffer. Formulation F4 showed best in vitro drug release 96.52±0.52% at the end of 24 h of study. Ex vivo permeation study of formulation F4 carried out using franz diffusion cell, also manifested good permeation and flux of drug across the chicken skin. Antifungal activity test of formulation F4 was carried out by the cup plate method using Aspergillus niger strain against marketed ketoconazole unveiled higher antifungal activity than marketed one. Conclusion: The study confirmed formulation F4 to be an optimized and promising formulation for the effective treatment of topical fungal infections with enhanced solubility and penetration through the skin.