Preparation and in vitro evaluation of an ilomastat microemulsion gel by a self-microemulsifying system

The purpose of this study was to construct a microemulsion gel formulation by a self-microemulsifying system for transdermal topical delivery of ilomastat. The optimum formulations were screened by penetration evaluation in vitro. Ilomastat microemulsion gel was prepared by drawing a ternary phase diagram and Pluronic F127 was added as gel matrix for the formulation. The optimal formulations had wide microemulsion existent field and good self-microemulsifying efficiency. The droplet size was within 100 nm. Statistical comparison of the permeation throughout 24 h showed that the two microemulsion gel preparations of ilomastat provided higher permeation than that of the normal gel which had only a low cumulative amount of ilomastat (6.03 microg x cm(-2)) 24 h after application. Cumulative amount of ilomastat from microemulsion gels A and B was 2.2 times and 1.8 times that of the normal gel at 24 h respectively. These results indicate that the microemulsion gel may be a promising vehicle for topical delivery of ilomastat.