Development of in situ poloxamer-chitosan hydrogels for vaginal drug delivery of benzydamine hydrochloride: Textural, mucoadhesive and in vitro release properties

Abstract

The use of in situ hydrogel systems for vaginal drug delivery

is an important strategy in the treatment of vaginitis. The

aim of this study was to develop in situ vaginal hyrogels for

benzydamine hydrochloride (BNZ) which were composed of

poloxamer and chitosan. The reason for development of these

hydrogels was to obtain a vaginal delivery system with improved

mechanical and mucoadhesive properties that could provide

prolonged retention time for the treatment of vaginits. The

hydrogels were also designed for once a day dosage of the drug

and to obtain a controlled release of the BNZ. For this purpose

BNZ containing hydrogel formulations using thermosensitive

polymer (Poloxamer 407) and mucoadhesive polymer

(Chitosan H, Chitosan M and Chitosan L) were developed. The

hydrogels are composed of polymers which have promising

potential for vaginal delivery systems. These formulations were

evaluated by rheology, texture, mucoadhesive profiles and drug

diffusion with a Franz diffusion cell. It was observed that the

diffusion of BNZ from the in situ poloxamer-chitosan hydrogel

was more sustained and controlled than with the poloxamer gel.

The hydrogel formulations diffused about 65.3±5.1, 80.6±3.8,

88.1±7.3 and 100.4±4.8% of BNZ at 6h. The formulation

containing Poloxamer 407 and Chitosan H has the best

controlled release profile and mucoadhesive properties, results

which indicate that it could suitable for use once a day on the

vaginal route. Moreover, the hydrogels higher mucoadhesion

exhibited by this formulation prolongs the drug residence

time compared with the poloxamer gel and may increase the

BNZ efficacy. These BNZ mucoadhesive vaginal hydrogel

formulations may be a promising alternative to conventional

dosage forms for vaginal topical therapy.

Keywords

• Mucoadhesion,poloxamer,chitosan,hydrogel,benzydamine hydrochloride,vaginal drug delivery

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