Development and Optimization of Moxifloxacin-Loaded in-Situ Gel Using Box-Behnken Design for Ophthalmic Drug Delivery

Abstract

Objective: This research aims to develop, optimize and characterize the sustained release in situ ocular gel containing moxifloxacin hydrochloride. Material and Method: Box-Behnken design was applied to optimize the formulation. The independent variables were (X₁) concentration of sodium alginate (%w/v), (X₂) concentration of carbopol 934 (%w/v) and (X₃) concentration of HPMC K100M (%w/v) while the (Y₁) drug release (%) was the dependent variable.

Evaluation: Further the optimized formulation was evaluated for appearance, pH, viscosity, gelling capacity, drug content estimation, sterility testing and spreadability of formulated gel.

 Result: The optimized formula of moxifloxacin in situ gel containing sodium alginate (1.5 %w/v), Carbopol 934 (1%w/v) and HPMC K100M (0.625%w/v) was found to be clear, pH was found to be in range (6.8-7.4) and showed maximum drug release of 96.45% upto 8 hours. These results concluded that in situ gels can be used as an alternative of traditional eye drops.