FORMULATION AND EVALUATION OF NANOEMULSION FOR ENHANCED BIOAVAILABILITY OF ITRACONAZOLE

Nanoemulsions are the novel drug delivery system which allows sustained or controlled release of drug, biological active ingredient and genetic material. Nanoemulsion is a system consisting of oil, surfactant and an aqueous phase, which is an isotropically clear and thermo-dynamically or kinetically stable liquid solution, usually with droplet diameter within the range of 10 – 500 nm. Nanoemulsion is one of the supreme and valuable dosage forms with the appliance of nano-technology in pharmaceutical formulations. Very small size droplets of the nanoemulsion support better drug absorption and targeting. It not only improves the conventional emulsion systems but also opens new opportunities for other drugs to be designed more precisely with better bioavailability and accurate dosing leading to minimum side effects. The purpose of this research was to develop nanoemulsion of itraconazole that leads to higher dissolution rate and improved bioavailability. Itraconazole nanoemulsion was prepared by solvent displacement method and characterized by particle size determination, polydispersity index, drug content, entrapment efficiency and % cumulative release. The results obtained reveals that itraconazole nanoemulsion can be formulated with capryol 90 for better bioavailability of this hydrophobic drug.