Effect of Carbopol 934 and 940 on Fluconazole Release from Topical Gel Formulation: A Factorial Approach.

The aim of present research is to investigate the effect of various carbopols (934 and 940) on drug release from fluconazole gel formulation developed for topical application. Fluconazole (FCZ) is the first of a new subclass of synthetic triazole antifungal agent and it is commonly used in treatment of most fungal infections. It is available as topical powder, tablets and sterile solutions for intravenous use. In present research, full factorial design has been applied to study the effect of type of carbopols on quality attributes of FCZ gel formulation. FCZ topical gel formulation batches (F1 to F9) have been formulated as per runs obtained in factorial design and further evaluated for pH, drug content, viscosity, invitro drug release kinetics, etc. Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) study indicated no any chemical or structural changes in FCZ during formulation studies. Drug diffusion studies have shown time required for 90% of total drug release (t90%) from all formulations in between 28.7 ± 2.3 to 208.4 ± 3.9 min. Batch F9 showed maximum t90% attributed to highest viscosity resulted in slower drug release amongst all batches (F1-F11), however, vice versa results have been observed with batch F1. These results were in accordance with concept of inverse relationship between drug release and viscosity of formulation. It has been observed that drug release from all gel formulation batches obeyed korsmeyer-peppas model. Permeation of drug through formed gel depends on viscosity and pH of gel. From present study it can be concluded that topical gel formulations of FCZ with desirable drug diffusion pattern can be successfully prepared by using carbopol 934 and carbopol 940, where both carbopols have extended the drug release at their respective higher concentrations.