Fluconazole Topical Microemulsion: Preparation and Evaluation

The aim of the present study was to prepare and evaluate different formulations of fluconazole in microemulsion base using isopropyl myristate as oil phase, Labrasol as surfactant and plurol oleique as co-surfactant. Isopropyl myristate was selected as oil phase due to its good solublising capacity. Microemulsion existence region was determined using the pseudo-ternary phase diagrams for preparing different formulations.

Five different formulations were formulated with various values of oil (5 – 25%), water (10 – 50%), and the mixture of surfactant and co-surfactant (at the ratio of 4) (45 – 65%). In-vitro permeation of fluconazole from the microemulsions was evaluated using Keshary Chien diffusion cells mounted with 0.45μ cellulose acetate membrane. The amount of drug permeated across was analyzed by HPLC and the droplet size and zeta potential of the microemulsions was characterized using a Zetasizer Nano-ZS. The globule size ranged between 122 -418nm. The permeability of optimised microemulsion formulation was increased approximately five folds than that of the marketed formulation. The results indicated that the microemulsion system studied would be a promising tool for enhancing the percutaneous delivery of fluconazole.