Synergistic Effect of Diclofenac Sodium and Sulfamethoxazole in Pure form, Microparticle Formulation and in Carbopol Incorporated Gel Containing Microparticle Formulation

As infectious diseases are connected with pain and infections, treating pain and infection should be prioritized. Patients suffering from bacterial infection may need diclofenac sodium (DS) during the regular use of sulfamethoxazole (SM) treatment. So, simultaneous or following administration of DS and SM may be needed. The goal of this study was to prepare six microparticle formulations (MF-1-MF-6) made up of Polyethylene glycol-6000 (PEG-6000) with and without chitosan and that was loaded with two drugs (DS and SM) by cold/hot (melt) dispersion method. The formulated microparticle was then mixed with carbopol gel (0.75 and 1.00% w/v) and evaluated. The percentage yield for all the formulated microparticles was found to be between 94.13% and 97.18%. The drug content for both DS and SM is within the prescribed limits. The microparticle size studies revealed that microparticles prepared without chitosan had smaller particles than those prepared with chitosan. The in vitro drug release results illustrate that the release of DS and SM from prepared microparticles is increased for the preparation containing chitosan compared to without chitosan preparation. When compared to microparticles alone, the microparticles in gel formulations demonstrated slow drug release. Based on the obtained results of the work, it may be concluded that chitosan increases particle size, and subsequently, drugs are released more rapidly. The research also suggests that DS and SM produce synergistic drug release when administrated together in pure, microparticle, and gel form.