DEVELOPMENT OF pH BASED PHASE CHANGE SOLUTIONS FOR OPHTHALMIC DRUG DELIVERY OF GATIFLOXACIN Abdullah Khan *1, SMd

Noorulla, Mohammed Muqtader, Roshan S and Sadath Ali

Conventional dosage forms like gels and eye drops show relatively low bioavailability due to poor precorneal contact time. In situ gelling systems are of great importance in providing prolonged ocular drug delivery due to their elastic properties. It resists ocular drainage leading to longer contact time. In the present study an in situ gelling solution was formulated for gatifloxacin an antibacterial agent, using different ratios of hydroxypropyl cellulose and Sodium alginate with a view to increase gelling strength and bio-adhesion force in order to increase pre-corneal contact time, thereby increasing ocular bioavailability of the drug. The prepared formulations were evaluated for various physical parameters such as, clarity, pH, viscosity, drug content, sterility, and in vitro drug release. The formulated gels were transparent, uniform in consistency and had sufficient spreadability with a pH range of 6.8 to 7.1. It was found that with an increase in the concentration of the bioadhesive polymer sodium alginate the drug release was prolonged for longer period of time. Amongst the different polymer combinations studied the G-7 showed satisfactorily higher gel strength, and sustained drug release for more than twelve hours and was stable throughout the stability studies. Thus it can be concluded that the G-7 was more suitable combination for the formulation of ophthalmic in situ gelling system for sustained ocular drug delivery of gatifloxacin, which improves the bioavailability of the drugs on the precorneal area.