ABSTRACT

The objective of the present investigation is to develop topical gel of minoxidil using model polymers such as hydroxypropyl methylcellulose K4M (HPMC K4M) and hydroxypropyl cellulose (HPC) at different concentrations (1, 2 and 3%) individually and in combination. The dmg and polymers compatibility study was carried out by FTIR teclmique. The gels were evaluated for dmg content, viscosity, pH, homogenity, grittiness and in vitro dmg release. The FTIR spectra of dmg alone and in physical mixture with polymers did not show any slıift in majör peaks, wlıich indicates no dmg-polymer interaction. Ali the data obtained from above physicochemical parameters were satisfactory. In vitro dmg release of gels was performed using Franz diffusion celi of 25 ınL capacity with cellulose acetate membrane in phosphate buffer pH 6.8 as receptor medium. According to the release study, the dmg release was decreasing with the increasing polymer concentration in each fonnulation. The correlation coefficient (r) values demonstrate that the dmg release pattem followed Higuclıi model and the release exponent (n) values were witlıin 0.45 to 0.85 for ali fonnulations except FG3, FG4 and FG7. The above results showed that swelling and diffusion (Non-Fickian diffusion) were the dmg release mechanism. To know the marketing feasibility, the release data of ali the fonnulations were compared with the marketed formulation (Tugain gel) and it was found tlıat formulation FG2 was lıaving lıighest similarity with similarity factor (f2) of 77.79.