DEVELOPMENT AND EVALUATION OF SOME MICROSPONGE LOADED MEDICATED TOPICAL FORMULATIONS OF ACYCLOVIR

Skin has to bear various external traumas like wounds, burns, blisters, irritation etc. as well as topical diseases like psoriasis, vitilago, cancer and herpes. Various drug delivery systems like vesicles, microspheres, transdermal patches, nanoemulsions, microemulsions, microsponges etc. are available which are better than conventional drug delivery methods because these bypass systemic circulation as well as drug can be targeted directly to the required site. Microsponges are tiny sponge-like spherical particles with a large porous surface and provide controlled release. Herpes simplex is a viral disease occurring in two forms Herpes labialis and Herpes keratitis which occur on lips and epidermal layer of skin respectively. Conventional formulations used for treating herpes have various drawbacks like irritation, rashes, frequency of dosing and low bioavailability. Hence microsponge loaded topical preparations herbal gel and medicated lipstick of Acyclovir was prepared with a purpose to overcome these drawbacks. Microsponge loaded controlled release formulations of Acyclovir were prepared using quasi emulsion solvent diffusion method. The proposed formulations of Acyclovir loaded microsponges were characterized for particle size, production yield and entrapment efficiency. The range of production yield was found to be between 57.43 % and 77.81 %, entrapment efficiency was found to be between 68.95 % and 87.56% and particle size was found between 376.3 nanometers to 777.7 nanometers for different batches. Porous structure of microsponges was confirmed by Scanning Electron Microscopy. After evaluation best optimized batch was incorporated in carbopol and aloe gel and lipstick base. Microsponge loaded herbal gel and lipstick were evaluated for various physical parameters. In- vitro release studies using diffusion cell revealed that the drug release followed Korsemeyer Peppas model.