Formulation and Evaluation of Itraconazole 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 Itraconazole. Emulgel formulations of Itraconazole were prepared using two types of gelling agents namely: 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 formulations were evaluated for their physical appearance, viscosity, drug release, globule size, skin irritation test, antifungal activity, transmission electron microscopy and stability. Commercially available Itraconazole 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 Itraconazole cream. The result of studied revealed that the optimized batch shows 95.08% release in 48 hours and stable for around three. The result of microbial assay compared with marketed product, the result shows46.6% inhibition of optimized batch where as marketed preparation shows only 32.3% inhibition. While result of skin irritation test shows no edema and erythema. 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.