Optimisation of Alfuzosin Hydrochloride Organogels for Transdermal Delivery

Introduction: The purpose of present research was to prepare and optimise alfuzosin hydrochloride (AH) organogels for transdermal delivery using box-behnken design. Methods: Organogels were prepared by fluid filled fiber mechanism. In box-behnken design, the effect of gelling agent, concentration of gelling agent, apolar solvent and permeation enhancer on flux and Q24 was studied. The prepared organogels were evaluated for physicochemical properties and in vitro diffusion studies, ex vivo permeation, skin irritation and stability studies. Results: All the formulations have shown better physicochemical properties. Ex-vivo skin permeation studies reveals that, Tween80 based organogel formulated using 70% w/w of Tween80, IPM as apolar solvent and Tween20 as permeation enhancer has shown maximum drug release of 89.53% for 24 hrs with flux of 33.03±0.19 μg/cm2/hr and Q24 of 914.05±1.42 μg/cm2. Modified backward model was the best fit model in box-behnken design. Permeability coefficient, lag time and skin content were found to be 3.303±0.02 cm/hr, 0.45±0.30 hr and 240.66±9.89 μg/g respectively. The transdemal flux was enhanced by 8.34 times over pure drug solution. Skin irritation studies showed irritation potential of ‘0’, thus proving to be non-irritant. The formulations were stable at room temperature for 1 month. Conclusion: Results suggested that Tween80 based organogels are better carriers for transdermal delivery of AH when compared with soyalecithin and Span80: Tween80 based organogels.