Ophthalmic Drug Delivery of Diclofenac Potassium from Different Polymer Formulations: In Situ Sol Gels

The major purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of different polymers-based solutions as the in situ gelling vehicles for ophthalmic drug delivery. The rheological properties, in vitro release as well as in vivo studies by using various polymer solutions, like carbopol, pluronic and carbopol/pluronic solution, were evaluated. The optimum concentration of carbopol solution was 0.3% (w/v), pluronic solution was 13% (w/v). The mixture of 0.3% carbopol and 13% (w/v), pluronic solutions showed a significant enhancement in gel strength in the physiological condition; this gel mixture was also found to be free flowing. Both the in vitro release and in vivo pharmacological studies indicated that the carbopol/pluronic solution had the better ability to retain drug than the carbopol or pluronic solutions alone. The results demonstrated that the carbopol/pluronic mixture can be used as an in situ gelling vehicle to enhance the ocular bioavailability.