ACECLOFENAC LOADED FILM FORMING GELS: IN VIVO STUDY

For arthritis, there is need of development of a drug delivery system which permits less frequent dosing by maintaining a close contact with the skin for prolonged time period, thereby improving the patient compliance, especially among elderly. Till date, film forming gels of aceclofenac for arthritis are not available in the market. It is a novel approach which can be used as an alternative to conventional topical and transdermal formulations to treat arthritis. Therefore, HPMC and Eudragit RL 100 based film forming gels of aceclofenac were prepared. On the basis of in vitro potential, the formulation was further selected and evaluated for their acute skin irritation studies and in vivo anti-arthritic activity using primary skin irritation (draize) test and Freund’s Complete Adjuvant (FCA) induced arthritis method. The tested formulations were devoid of any irritation potential and no edema formation was observed in any cases Irritation score (primary skin irritation index) for all the formulations was found to be zero, which indicates its safety and acceptability for transdermal administration. The in vivo study revealed that there was significant reduction in inflamed paw volume compared to the marketed formulation. The developed film forming gels could be a potential drug delivery platform for the management of arthritis.