Abstract
In situ forming drug delivery systems are in solution form before administration but once administered, undergo gelation in situ, to form a gel. In the present study nasal in situ gel of Levofloxacin hemihydrate was prepared for the treatment of nasal infections to provide sustained release of drug and to attain site specific action. Carbopol 934 was used as a pH triggered polymer. Different formulations were prepared by varying the concentrations of Carbopol 934 alone and in combination with Hydroxyl Propyl Methyl Cellulose (HPMC), HPMC K15M, HPMC K100 M, and HPMC E50 LV as viscosity enhancing agents. These formulations were evaluated for parameters like drug excipient compatibility, pH, drug content, viscosity, in vitro drug release, mucoadhesion, ex vivo permeation and stability studies. FTIR study revealed that there was no interaction between drug and polymer. pH of all the formulations were found to be in the range of 4.6-5.5 and the drug content for all the prepared formulations was found to be in the range of 96%- 99%. The results of in vitro drug release and mucoadhesive strength indicated that the optimized formulation F12 is the most successful formulation of the study, exhibited a sustained drug release of 46.2±0.46 % in 8 h with a mucoadhesive strength of 3524.64 dyne/cm2. From the results it is concluded that Levofloxacin hemihydrate nasal in situ gel produces prolonged and site specific drug delivery for the treatment of respiratory tract infections especially for sinusitis and bronchitis.
