ABSTRACT
The present study was intended to formulate the ketoprofen emulgels using different viscosity grades of hydroxypropyl methylcellulose and carbopol as gelling agents. All the prepared emulgels were shown acceptable physical properties concerning colour, homogeneity, consistency, and pH value. Emulgels containing hydroxypropyl methylcellulose were poor in clarity when compared to carbopol formulations. The influence of the type of gelling agent on the drug release from the prepared emulgels was investigated and carbopol 934 showed good results not only in the drug release but also in physical evaluation parameters. From the drug release studies, F3 formulation showed 98.46±2.05% drug release in 8 h with good clarity and physical appearance. The T10% and T80% values of best formulation F3 was found to be 0.9 h and 6.6 h respectively. The T10% and T80% was higher for formulations with carbopol in low concentration when compared to hydroxypropyl methylcellulose K 4M and K 15M in high concentrations, indicating better controlled release. FTIR studies proved the compatibility between drug and carbopol. From the stability studies, similarity index value between dissolution profiles of F3 formulation before and after storage was found to be 87.16. Hence the development of ketoprofen emulgels is a suitable way for topical administration.