Development And Formulation Of Microemulsion For Topical Drug Delivery Of Fluconazole

Abstract

Microemulsions are thermodynamically stable transparent or translucent formulations which contain mainly oil, water, surfactants
and co-surfactants. The aim of the present study was to develop and evaluate microemulsion for the topical drug delivery of
fluconazole (FLZ). The solubility of fluconazole in different oils, surfactants and co-surfactants was selected to identify the
components of the microemulsion. The pseudo-ternary phase diagrams were constructed using the water titration method at ambient
temperature. The selected microemulsions were assessed for globule size, zeta potential conductivity, viscosity, spreadability, pH and
stability study, Besides this, the microemulsion loaded fluconazole formulations were evaluated for and in vitro permeation studies
and skin irritation studies .In-vitro permeation studies performed through wister rat skin membrane. The optimized microemulsion
FLZ MEs-1 and FLZ MEs-6formulations consisting of FLZ 1%, castor oil 10%- 20% respectively, Smix(4:1, 2:1), 50%- 48%
respectively and aqueous phase 39%-31% respectively. The in vitro permeation through excised Wister rat skin from the studied
microemulsion was best described by the zero-order and first order models. Finally, the optimized FLZ MEs-1 formulations showed
higher activity as compared to that of FLZ MEs-6 respectively. The results suggest the potential use of developed microemulsion as
vehicles for topical drug delivery of fluconazole, encouraging further in vitro evaluation.