Abstract

A. Chandra* and P. K. Sharma

Piroxicam is a widely used potent non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug, with due potential for dermal delivery. Permeation of piroxicam from proniosome based reservoir type transdermal gel formulation across excised rat abdominal skin was investigated using Keshery Chein diffusion cell. There was considerable improvement in flux over the control gel formulation. The lipid vesicles were evaluated for entrapment efficiency and vesicle size of niosomes formed. It was observed that Span 60 based formulations produced vesicles of smallest size and higher entrapment efficiency while those of Span 80 produced vesicles of least entrapment efficiency. Incorporation of lecithin further enhanced entrapment efficiency. Proniosomes were prepared by conventional technique and employing maltodextrin and sorbitol as base. The morphology of the proniosomes was studied by scanning electron microscopy. Maximum flux achieved was 35.61 g/cm2 /h, an enhancement of 7.39 times was achieved for transdermal system based on proniosomal gel as compared to control gel. Anti-inflammatory studies revealed that proniosome based transdermal drug delivery system of piroxicam were promising carriers for delivery of piroxicam. There was significant reduction in carrageenan induced rat paw inflammation compared to control.