FORMULATION AND CHARACTERIZATION OF BIFONAZOLE ELASTIC LIPOSOMES FOR EFFECTIVE TOPICAL FUNGAL INFECTION
Muskan Singh, Sandesh Asati, Brijesh Sirohi, Vishnu Raj
ABSTRACT
Bifonazole is a broad-spectrum antifungal agent widely used for the treatment of superficial fungal infections; however, conventional topical formulations may suffer from inadequate drug retention and limited penetration into the skin. The present study aimed to develop and evaluate bifonazole-loaded elastic liposomal gel to improve topical drug delivery and provide sustained drug release. Six elastic liposomal formulations (F1–F6) were prepared using phosphatidylcholine and Tween 80 as vesicle-forming and edge-enhancing components, respectively. The formulations were evaluated for vesicle size and entrapment efficiency, and formulation F5 was selected as the optimized elastic liposome based on its desirable characteristics. F5 exhibited a vesicle size of 146.8 nm, entrapment efficiency of 86.52 ± 0.84%, and zeta potential of ?30.25 mV. The optimized elastic liposomes were incorporated into gel formulations (ELG1–ELG3), which were evaluated for drug content, pH, spreadability, and viscosity. ELG2 demonstrated the most desirable characteristics, with drug content of 98.76 ± 0.22%, pH of 6.48 ± 0.07, spreadability of 12.46 ± 1.08 g•cm/sec, and viscosity of 3425 ± 19 cps. The in-vitro drug-release study of ELG2 showed a sustained release of bifonazole, reaching 98.36% at 10 h. Release-kinetic analysis indicated that the Korsmeyer–Peppas model provided the best fit (R² = 0.9955), followed by the Higuchi model (R² = 0.9910), suggesting a diffusion-associated release mechanism. Stability studies demonstrated that ELG2 retained its homogeneous and smooth appearance with only minor changes in drug content during four weeks of storage at 4 ± 0.5°C and 28 ± 0.5°C. The findings suggest that bifonazole-loaded elastic liposomal gel, particularly ELG2, represents a promising topical delivery system capable of providing efficient drug incorporation and sustained drug release.
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