Formulation and evaluation of a pH induced in situ occular gelling system of piroxicam

Poor ocular bioavailability is caused by the traditional liquid ophthalmic delivery systems' short pre - corneal residence time and relative corneal impermeability. Based on the concept of pH - induced in situ gelation, the current study aimed to develop and e valuate an ocular delivery system for the non - steroidal anti - inflammatory medication Piroxicam. Sodium alginate was used as the gelling agent in combination with HPMC (0.25 - 0.75% w/v), which acted as a viscosity - enhancing agent. Compatibility studies of th e drug excipients were carried out using FTIR studies. Clearness, pH, gelation studies, drug content, and in vitro drug release were all evaluated for the prepared formulations. According to in vitro release tests, the F8 formulation with 0.3% w/v sodium a nd HPMC (10 cps and 15 cps) at 0.5% w/v each exhibits sustained drug release up to 8 hours and follows zero - order kinetics with a super case II transport mechanism. The in vitro release of piroxicam from the chosen formulations was investigated. The result s show that for eight hours, formulation (F8) demonstrated a sustained release of the drug (above 95%) from the network of sodium alginate as a gelling agent and HPMC .