Design and Assessment of a Microemulsion-Based Transdermal Drug Delivery System for Meloxicam; Examination of Formulation Ingredients

Background: The goal of creating meloxicam-loaded microemulsion formulations was to increase meloxicam permeability through the skin. Using pseudo-ternary phase diagram construction and full factorial design, eight formulations with three independent variables (water percent, oil percent, and surfactant/co-surfactant percent) were selected to be prepared. Methods: This research evaluated the formulation's characteristics, including particle size, viscosity, and release profile. FT-IR and DSC techniques were also utilized to investigate the effect of microemulsion components on rat abdomen skin, and the permeability of meloxicam-loaded microemulsions via rat abdomen skin was also evaluated by calculating permeability parameters such as Jss, Dapp, Tlag, ERflux, ERD, and ERP. Results: When compared to a saturated aqueous solution of meloxicam as a reference, the findings showed that all microemulsion (ME) formulations considerably increased meloxicam permeability through rat skin. Water percent had a direct and significant relationship with Jss, and oil percent had a direct and significant relationship with Dapp, according to analysis regression. Conclusion: ME components also caused alterations in the skin's lipoprotein bilayers, which might enhance formulation permeability through the skin.