FABRICATION AND CHARACTERIZATION OF ZALTOPROFEN LOADED LYOTROPIC LIQUID CRYSTALLINE GEL

In recent years, most of the non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAID's) have been designed to deliver the drug in the form of topical gels, to avoid GIT irritation and to maximize drug concentration at the site of action. Liquid crystal phase has emerged as a novel material for the preparation of topical drug delivery system. For the preparation of liquid crystals, we have selected glycerol monooleate (GmO) because it is biocompatible, bioadhesive, a penetration enhancer and sustained release agent. It was proposed to develop zaltoprofen loaded lyotropic liquid crystalline gel. The optimized formulation of this system shows hexagonal phase identified by polarized microscopy and transmission electron microscopy. In vitro drug release kinetics shows that there was 70.45% drug release within 48 hrs. Textural properties like adhesiveness, cohesiveness, hardness and gumminess and texture profile analysis (TPA) of zaltoprofen loaded lyotropic liquid crystalline gel could be evaluated with the help of cT3 texture analyzer. In vivo evaluation of this formulation was done by carrageenan induced rat paw edema anti-inflammatory model.