Ibuprofen Emulgels as Promising Topical Drug Delivery System - A Study of Formulation Design and In vitro Evaluation

Abstract

Aim: Ibuprofen is BCS class-II drug with lower solubility and higher permeability. The present work was undertaken
to formulate ibuprofen emulgels with a view to enhance the bioavailability and to make a suitable topical drug
delivery system. Methods: Xanthan gum was used as gelling agent in different concentrations. Ibuprofen was
dissolved in ethanol and propylene glycol. The oily phase was prepared with liquid paraffin. The formulated
emulgels were subjected for appearance, pH, spreadability, swelling index, rheological study, drug content, and
drug release parameters, and the optimized batch was evaluated for particle size and in vitro skin irritation study
by HET- CAM test. Results: The prepared emulgels showed satisfactory results for the evaluation parameters.
The emulgel IG-4 emerged as optimized formulation with higher drug release which had good mean particle size
and also found to be non-toxic and non-irritant with the obtained results of HET-CAM test. Conclusion: Emulgel
can be promising topical drug delivery approach for ibuprofen to enhance the bioavailability with better patient
compliance.