Tropical Journal of Pharmaceutical Research

Original Research Article | OPEN ACCESS

Carbopol hydrogel/sorbitan monostearate-almond oil based organogel biphasic formulations: Preparation and characterization of the bigels

Velichka Y Andonova^1,2 , Petya T Peneva^1,2, Elisaveta G Apostolova³, Teodora D Dimcheva⁴, Zhivko L Peychev⁴, Margarita I Kassarova^1,2

²Technological Center for Emergency Medicine (TCEMED), Plovdiv; ³Department of Pharmacology and Drug Toxicology, Faculty of Pharmacy. ⁴Department of Medical Informatics, Biostatistics and e-Learning, Faculty of Public Health, Medical University â€“ Plovdiv, Plovdiv, Bulgaria.

For correspondence:- Velichka Andonova Email: andonova_v@abv.bg Tel:+359888603272

Received: 10 March 2017 Accepted: 19 June 2017 Published: 31 July 2017

Citation: Andonova VY, Peneva PT, Apostolova EG, Dimcheva TD, Peychev ZL, Kassarova MI. Carbopol hydrogel/sorbitan monostearate-almond oil based organogel biphasic formulations: Preparation and characterization of the bigels. Trop J Pharm Res 2017; 16(7):1455-1463 doi: 10.4314/tjpr.v16i7.1

© 2017 The authors.
This is an Open Access article that uses a funding model which does not charge readers or their institutions for access and distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0) and the Budapest Open Access Initiative (http://www.budapestopenaccessinitiative.org/read), which permit unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly credited..

Abstract

Purpose: To obtain and evaluate carbopol hydrogel/sorbitan monostearate-almond oil-based organogel biphasic formulations (bigels) as a semi-solid vehicle for medicated topical applications.

Methods: Bigel formulations were obtained under mild conditions at a hydrogel/organogel ratio of 80/20, 70/30, and 60/40 (w/w). Their stability, viscosity, spreadability, microarchitecture, and acute skin toxicity were evaluated.

Results: Two formulations, prepared at ratios of 80/20 and 70/30, were stable based on intermediate stability testing, and had a similar viscosity and spreadability (38.0 ± 1.0 mm and 37.3 ± 0.6 mm, p > 0.05, respectively). Both of these formulations had a bimodal droplet size distribution and very similar values for the droplet mean diameter (0.33 ± 0.05 µm and 2.35 ± 0.44; and 0.34 ± 0.04 µm and 2.59 ± 0.21 µm). The formulation obtained at a ratio of 60/40 was unstable during storage. The in vivo results did not reveal any signs of skin toxicity.

Conclusion: Considering their beneficial properties, the developed bigels are a potential semi-solid vehicle for topical application and exhibit a moisturizing effect.

Keywords: Almond oil, Bigels, Carbopol hydrogel, Moisturizing effect, Organogel, Sorbitan monostearate