The potential of the drug remains to be harvested by designing a suitable formulation that could overcome its inherent low bioavailability.

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Buccal bioadhesive films, releasing topical drugs in the oral cavity at a slow and predetermined rate, provide distinct advantages over traditional dosage forms. The aim of present study was to prepare and evaluate buccal bioadhesive films of clotrimazole for oral candidiasis. The film was designed to release the drug at a concentration above the minimum inhibitory concentration for a prolonged period of time so as to reduce the frequency of administration of the available conventional dosage forms. The different proportions of sodium carboxymethylcellulose and carbopol 974P (CP 974P) were used for the preparation of films. Carbopol was used to incorporate the desired bioadhesiveness in the films. The films were prepared by solvent casting method and evaluated for bioadhesion, in vitro drug release and effectiveness against Candida albicans. In vitro drug release from the film was determined using a modified Franz diffusion cell while bioadhesiveness was evaluated with a modified two-arm balance using rabbit intestinal mucosa as a model tissue. Films containing 5% CP 974P of the total polymer were found to be the best with moderate swelling along with favorable bioadhesion force, residence time and in vitro drug release. The microbiological studies revealed that drug released from the film could inhibit the growth of C. albicans for 6 h. The drug release mechanism was found to follow non-Fickian diffusion.

Raloxifene hydrochloride (RL-HCL) is an orally selective estrogen receptor modulator (SERM) with poor bioavailability of nearly 2% due to its poor aqueous solubility and extensive first pass metabolism. In order to improve the oral bioavailability of raloxifene, raloxifene loaded solid lipid nanoparticles (SLN) have been developed using Compritol 888 ATO as lipid carrier and Pluronic F68 as surfactant. Raloxifene loaded SLN were prepared by solvent emulsification/evaporation method, and different concentrations of surfactant, and homogenization speed were taken as process variables for optimization. SLN were characterized for particle size, zeta potential, entrapment efficiency, surface morphology, and crystallinity of lipid and drug. In vitro drug release studies were performed in phosphate buffer of pH 6.8 using dialysis bag diffusion technique. Particle sizes of all the formulations were in the range of 250 to 1406 nm, and the entrapment efficiency ranges from 55 to 66%. FTIR and DSC studies indicated no interaction between drug and lipid, and the XRD spectrum showed that RL-HCL is in amorphous form in the formulation. In vitro release profiles were biphasic in nature and followed Higuchi model of release kinetics. Pharmacokinetics of raloxifene loaded solid lipid nanoparticles after oral administration to Wistar rats was studied. Bioavailability of RL-HCL loaded SLN was nearly five times than that of pure RL-HCL.

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