The aim of this work was to investigate the effects of formulation variables on development of carvedilol (CAR) proniosomal gel formulations as potential transdermal delivery systems. Different non-ionic surfactants; polyoxyethylene alkyl ethers, namely Brij 78, Brij 92, and Brij 72; and sorbitan fatty acid esters (Span 60) were evaluated for their applicability in preparation of CAR proniosomal gels. A 2(3) full factorial design was employed to evaluate individual and combined effects of formulation variables, namely cholesterol content, weight of proniosomes, and amount of CAR added on performance of proniosomes. Prepared proniosomes were evaluated regarding entrapment efficiency (EE%), vesicle size, and microscopic examination. Also, CAR release through cellulose membrane and permeation through hairless mice skin were investigated. Proniosomes prepared with Brij 72 and Span 60 showed better niosome forming ability and higher EE% than those prepared with Brij 78 and Brij 92. Higher EE% was obtained by increasing both weight of proniosomes and amount of CAR added, and decreasing cholesterol content. Release rate through cellulose membrane was inversely affected by weight of proniosomes. In Span 60 proniosomes, on increasing percent of cholesterol, a decrease in release rate was observed. While in Brij 72 proniosomes, an enhancement in release rate was observed on increasing amount of CAR added. Permeation experiments showed that skin permeation was mainly affected by weight of proniosomes and that Span 60 proniosomal gels showed higher permeation enhancing effect than Brij 72. Proniosomal gel could constitute a promising approach for transdermal delivery of CAR.

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The aim of this study was to investigate the potential of surfactant-based nanovesicular system (spanlastics) for topical delivery of fenoprofen calcium (FPCa) to eliminate its oral gastrointestinal adverse effects. FPCa-loaded spanlastics were prepared by thin film hydration (TFH) technique according to a full factorial design to investigate the influence of formulation variables on the drug entrapment efficiency (%EE), particle size (PS), deformability index (DI), and the % drug released after 24 h through the cellulose membrane (Q24h) using Design-Expert® software. The optimized formula (composed of Span 60 and Tween 60 as an edge activator at weight ratio of 8: 2 in presence of Transcutol P as a cosolvent in the hydration media) exhibited the highest %EE (49.91 ± 2.60%), PS of 536.1 ± 17.14 nm, DI of 5.07 ± 0.06 g, and Q24h of 61.11 ± 2.70%; it was also characterized for morphology and physical stability. In vitro release study of FPCa-loaded spanlastic gel and conventional FPCa gel through a synthetic membrane and hairless rat skin were evaluated. The skin permeation study revealed that spanlastic gel exhibited both consistent and prolonged action. Finally, the % inhibition of carrageenan-induced rat paw edema of spanlastic gel was three times higher than the conventional FPCa gel after 24 h. In conclusion, spanlastic-based gel could be a great approach for improving topical delivery of fenoprofen calcium, providing both prolonged and enhanced anti-inflammatory activity in the treatment of arthritis.

A new validated bioanalytical method based on LC tandem MS has been developed for the simultaneous extraction and determination of sofosbuvir and ledipasvir in human plasma using antiviral daclatasvir as an internal standard (IS). Liquid-liquid extraction of samples was used for the purification and preconcentration of the analytes from a human plasma matrix. Good and consistent recoveries were obtained, with average extraction recoveries of 91.61 and 88.93% for sofosbuvir and ledipasvir, respectively. The chromatographic separation of the three analytes was achieved within only 2.8 min by an isocratic mobile phase consisting of 10 mM ammonium acetate, which was then adjusted to pH 4.0 by acetic acid-acetonitrile-0.1% methanolic formic acid (12 + 25 + 63, v/v/v) flowing through a C18 Zorbax eclipse plus column (5 μm, 100 × 4.6 mm; Agilent). Multiple reaction monitoring transitions were measured in positive ion mode for sofosbuvir, ledipasvir, and daclatasvir (IS). A detailed validation of the method was performed and the standard curves were found to be linear in the range of 0.5 to 2500 and 5 to 2100 ng/mL for sofosbuvir and ledipasvir, respectively, applying weighted (1/X(2)) linear regression. The developed method was applied to the analysis of the two drugs after a single oral administration of Harvoni 400/90 mg film-coated tablets containing 400 mg sofosbuvir and 90 mg ledipasvir to four healthy volunteers.

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Agomelatine is a new antidepressant having very low oral drug bioavailability less than 5% due to being liable to extensive hepatic 1st pass effect. This study aimed to deliver agomelatine by transdermal route through formulation and optimization of microemulsion gel. Pyramidal screening was performed to select the most suitable ingredients combinations and then, the design expert software was utilized to optimize the microemulsion formulations. The independent variables of the employed mixture design were the percentages of capryol 90 as an oily phase (X 1 ), Cremophor RH40 and Transcutol HP in a ratio of (1:2) as surfactant/cosurfactant mixture 'S mix ' (X 2 ) and water (X 3 ). The dependent variables were globule size, optical clarity, cumulative amount permeated after 1 and 24 h, respectively (Q1 and Q 24 ) and enhancement ratio (ER). The optimized formula was composed of 5% oil, 45% S mix and 50% water. The optimized microemulsion formula was converted into carbopol-based gel to improve its retention on the skin. It enhanced the drug permeation through rat skin with an enhancement ratio of 37.30 when compared to the drug hydrogel. The optimum ME gel formula was found to have significantly higher C max , AUC 0-24 h and AUC 0-1 than that of the reference agomelatine hydrogel and oral solution. This could reveal the prosperity of the optimized microemulsion gel formula to augment the transdermal bioavailability of agomelatine. ARTICLE HISTORY

Gabapentin (GBP), an antiepileptic and anti-neuropathic agent, suffers from short half-life (5–7 h), has narrow absorption window, and is absorbed via carrier-mediated mechanism resulting in frequent dosing, poor compliance, and poor bioavailability (<60%). Moreover, GBP is a freely water-soluble drug, thus it is considered a challenging candidate to be formulated as extended release dosage form. In this study, raft forming systems were investigated as a potential drug delivery system for prolonging gastric residence time of GBP. A 23 full factorial design was adopted to study the effect of formulation variables (% gellan gum, % GMO, and % LM-pectin 101), on the percent of GBP released at different time intervals (1, 5, and 8 h) as well as the gel strength, and thus was achieved an optimized formula with zero-order release profile suitable for once-daily administration. In vivo assessment was performed in rats to evaluate gastric residence of the gel formed. In addition, the oral bioavailability of GBP relative to commercially available Neurontin® immediate release oral solution was also investigated. Significant increase was observed for Cmax, AUC(0–t), and AUC(0–∞). The increase in relative bioavailability of GBP from the optimized formula was 1.7 folds.

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