Nimesulide has been shown to have anti-inflammatory activity and is widely used in the long term therapy of rheumatoid arthritis, in alleviating pain and inflammation. However, its oral use is restricted due to its poor water solubility and some toxic effects. In order to alleviate the disadvantages associated with oral delivery, the transdermal delivery systems such as microemulsion gel with suitable organoleptic and rheological properties for topical administration have been developed. In addition, hydrogel containing carbopol 940 as a gelling agent were also prepared. The apparent viscosity values and the rheological behavior for different gel formulations were measured before and after storage at different temperature were taken as measures for stability of network structure. The formulations were characterized for particle size, pH, zeta potential, drug entrapment efficiency, spreadability, and viscosity. The results showed that the size of particles were greatly affected by the concentration of surfactant and from PCS measurements, the size and polydispersity index of microemulsion gel were found to be 1.8μm±0.29 and 0.2±0.022 respectively. The zeta potential study showed good stability of the formulation. The drug release showed zero-order profile. Rheogram of the developed formulation showed Newtonian type of flow behavior.
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