FORMULATION AND CHARACTERISATION OF MELOXICAM LOADED EMULGEL FOR TOPICAL APPLICATION

Objective: The aim of the research work is to formulate emulgel of Meloxicam for topical application.Methods: The method used for preparation of microemulsion was water titration method with Oleic acid as oil phase, Tween 20 as surfactant and PEG 400 as co-surfactant and its concentrations were fixed based on Pseudoternary phase diagrams. The optimized emulsion formulation was incorporated into the gel matrix that is Carbopol981 NF and Carbopol 974 P NF.Results: The prepared emulsions were characterized for globule size, drug content, zeta potential and the emulgel for physical appearance, drug content, pH, viscosity, spreadability, extrudability and in vitro drug release studies. The optimized emulsion formulations E1 and F1 showed globule size of 176 nm and 128 nm respectively and the emulgel formulation M2F1 with 1.5% Carbopol 981 and optimized F1 emulsion formulation showed in vitro drug release of 89.934% at the end of 8 h. The optimized formulation showed no skin irritation when compared with standard irritant 0.8% of Formalin. The optimized formulation showed better anti-inflammatory effect when compared with marketed formulation.Conclusion: Meloxicam was proven to be a suitable candidate for formulating emulgel for topical delivery to achieve better patient compliance.Â