FORMULATION AND EVALUATION OF CIPROFLOXACIN HYDROCHLORIDE ENCAPSULATED LIPOSOMAL HYDROGEL FOR DERMAL ADMINISTRATION

The present work aims to formulation and characterization of a topical liposomal gel for ciprofloxacin hydrochloride. The drug lipid interaction studies were carried out by FTIR analysis, X-ray diffraction study, and DSC study, and no changes of physicochemical properties of ciprofloxacin were found. The thin-film hydration method was used for the preparation of liposomes consisting of phosphatidylcholine (PC) and cholesterol (CH). For hydrogel preparation, Carbopol 940 was used. The maximum entrapment efficiency of 79.51 ± 2.395 was found from liposomes formulated with PC/CH at a weight ratio of 30:10 (batch number – F5), and by increasing cholesterol content above this limit, the encapsulation efficiency decreased. All the prepared formulations were found stable and the liposomal gel approach of ciprofloxacin hydrochloride showed better skin residential time than the marketed formulation. The in-vitro drug permeation was found to be around within the range of 0.194-0.319 over a period of 12 h for different batches. In conclusion, ciprofloxacin hydrochloride liposomal hydrogel is a smart and suitable drug delivery system for improving the topical bioavailability of ciprofloxacin hydrochloride to treat various skin disorders.