Bioadhesive films containing fluconazole for mucocutaneous candidiasis

Fluconazole is a broad spectrum antifungal agent that has been extensively applied for the management of oral, pharyngeal and cutaneous candidiasis. Fluconazole has a high volume of distribution (0.55-0.65 l/kg) and has systemic toxicity due to high drug-drug interaction. The present study focuses on the formulation of bioadhesive film as a controlled release carrier for fluconazole. The formulation was intended to provide localized delivery of fluconazole exclusively at the site of infection, thereby reducing its total dose and hence, dose-related toxicities. Bioadhesive films were prepared by solvent casting method using sodium alginate and polyvinyl alcohol alone as well as in various combinations. Prepared films were evaluated for physical characteristics like, weight and content uniformity, film thickness, swelling index, microenvironment pH and folding endurance. In vitro drug release, in vitro and ex vivo residence time, bioadhesive strength and skin irritation were also studied. Accelerated stability study was conducted on the optimized formulation as per ICH guidelines. Weight of all the films were not more than 20 mg. Thickness of the films ranged between 0.09 to 0.15 mm whereas swelling indices showed a high extent of variation. Films composed of polyvinyl alcohol alone provided a swelling index of 6%. Bioadhesive strength was found to be more than 18 g. Microenvironment pH was near to 7.0 for most of the formulations. Ex vivo residence time of optimized batch was more than 5 h and it provided controlled drug release up to 8 h. As revealed in FT-IR and DSC studies, drug was found to be compatible with the excipients used in this study.