DESIGN, DEVELOPMENT AND CHARACTERIZATION OF SIMVASTATIN LOADED TRANSFERSOMAL GEL FOR TRANSDERMAL DRUG DELIVERY

The objective of the present study was to develop a controlled release transdermal drug delivery systems of simvastatin using lipid vesicular systems incorporated in a Carbopol gel, which will control the release of drug, increasing the bioavailability of the drug and thus decreasing the dosing frequency of the drug. The thin film hydration method or conventional rotary evaporation sonication method was used to prepare the transfersomes formulation. Experimental results of the present study showed that deformable lipid vesicles improve the transdermal delivery, prolong the release, and improve the site specificity of the lipophilic model drug, simvastatin. The drug diffusion studies showed that a transfersome vesicle follows zero order and mechanism of release follows Peppas model. In vivo study of optimized transfersomal gel formulation on suitable rodent model showed better biological anti-hyperlipidemic activity in comparison with reference formulation. Lipid:surfactant ratio of 85:15 is more effective when compared to other formulations because of its Higher flexibility and lesser particle size.