The present work investigates formulation development and evaluation of a topical gel of Sulfamethoxazole an antifungal drug. Topical drug administration is a localized drug delivery system anywhere in the body through ophthalmic, rectal, vaginal and skin as topical routes. An antifungal medication is a pharmaceutical fungicide used to treat mycoses such as athlete’s foot ringworm, candidacies. Antifungal drug works by exploiting differences between mammalian and fungal cells to kill the fungal organism without dangerous effect on host. The gels were formulated using gelling agent like Carbopol 940 and various penetration enhancers like Neem oil, Tulsi oil, and Eucalyptus oil and variation in their concentration was studied for their effect on the drug release profiles, permeation enhancement and flux values of the gels. Sulfamethoxazole topical gel formulation batches (G1 to G9) have been formulated using dispersion method. Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) study indicated no chemical or structural changes in Sulfamethoxazole during formulation studies. The gels were evaluated for pH, clarity, and viscosity, drug content, in vitro and ex vivo diffusion studies the maximum release obtained from Neem oil G1, G2, and G3 was 71.67%, 80.7% and 89.67 % respectively. The maximum release obtained from Tulsi oil G4, G5, and G6 was 71.8% and 81.9% 88.77% the maximum release obtained from Eucalyptus oil G7, G8 and G9 72.15% 80.5% and 89.22% it was found that release rate was increased with the increasing penetration enhancer concentration.
