A NEW PLATFORM FOR TOPICAL DRUG DELIVERY

1. EMULGEL
A NEW PLATFORM FOR
TOPICAL DRUG DELIVERY
Presenter:
Dhruvi Manesh Panchal
Final year B. Pharmacy.
Guide:
Ms. Kalyani Sheth
Assistant Professor AD- HOC

2. TABLE OF CONTENTS
SR. NO. TOPIC
1 INTRODUCTION
2 RATIONALE OF EMULGEL AS TOPICAL
DELIVERY
3 ADVANTAGES OF AN EMULGEL
4 TYPES OF EMULGEL
5 TYPES OF EMULSIONS
6 FORMULATING AN EMULGEL
7 EXCIPIENTS USED
8 EVALUATION
9 MARKETED PREPARATIONS
10 CONCLUSION
11 REFERENCES 2

3. INTRODUCTION
3
Emulsion Gel EMULGEL
EMULGELS are emulsions, either of the oil-in-
water or water in oil type, which are gelled by
mixing with a gelling agent.

4. RATIONALE OF EMULGEL AS
TOPICAL DELIVERY
Fig 1: Emulgel Structure
• Topical formulation to
incorporate hydrophobic
drug.
• To improve patient
acceptability.
• To increase bioavailability
of the drug.
4
Fig 1 Source: Haneefa, K.M., Mohanta, G.P. and Nayar, C., 2013. Emulgel: An Advanced Review. J. Pharm. Sci. & Res, 5(12), pp.254-258.

5. ADVANTAGES OF AN EMULGEL
 Hydrophobic drug can be easily incorporated into gel
using o/w emulsion.
 Low preparation cost.
 Production feasibility.
 Better stability.
 Better loading capacity.
 No intensive sonication.
 Dual- controlled release of drug from emulsion and
gel.
 Emulgels are used even for cosmetic purposes.
5

6. TYPES OF EMULGELS
Based on
Nature of API
Herbal/
Poly- herbal
For e.g.
1.Anti- psoriatic emulgel from
Babchi oil and Gum Guggul.
2. Cosmetic emulgel for skin
care from Field Pumpkin.
3. Emulgel for wound healing
from Lantana camara leaf
extract.
Allopathic
For e.g.
Diclofenac diethyl
ammonium Emulgel
(VOLTAREN) by
NOVARTIS PHARMA.
6

7. TYPES OF EMULGELS
Based on
Types of Emulsion
Macroemulgel Microemulgel Nanoemulgel
7

8. TYPES OF EMULSIONS BASED ON THEIR
DROPLET SIZE
MACROEMULSIONS
• Size of dispersed phase droplets- more than 400nm
• Visually opaque
• Thermodynamically unstable, but can be stabilized using
surface active agents.
• It is of two type’s o/w and w/o
• Method of Preparation:
 High energy method
 Low energy method
8
Fig. 2: Structure of Macro emulsion
Fig 2 Source: http://www.enviroquestgpt.co.uk/content/micro-emulsion.html

9. MICROEMULSIONS
• Size of dispersed phase droplets- 1nm to 100nm
• Microemulsions are clear, thermodynamically stable, isotropic liquid
mixtures of oil, water and surfactant, frequently in combination with a
co- surfactant.
• Microemulsions are the most stable out of all the three types of emulsion.
• They are of four types:
WINSOR I- O/W microemulsion
WINSOR II- W/O microemulsion
WINSOR III- consist of three phases:
1) A middle phase with oil, surfactants, and water;
2) water excess phase;
3) oil excess phase
WINSOR IV- one phase of oil, water, and surfactants.
9

10. • Method of Preparation:
1. Phase inversion method
2. Phase titration method
• Microemulsion preparation uses only low energy method.
10
Fig. 4: Psuedo- ternary phase diagram for
micro emulsions.
Fig.3 : Structure of a micro
emulsion
Fig 3, 4 Source: http://www.enviroquestgpt.co.uk/content/micro-emulsion.html

11. NANOEMULSIONS
(Miniemulsions/ Sub- micron emulsions)
• Size of dispersed phase droplets- <1nm
• Nanoemulsions are clear, kinetically stable liquid-in-liquid
dispersions.
• Types of Nanoemulsions:
1. O/W type
2. W/O type
3. Bi- continuous phase type
11
Fig. 5: O/W type
nanoemulsion
Fig. 6: W/O type
nanoemulsion
Fig. 5,6 Source: Society of Photo-Optical Instrumentation Engineers

12. 12
• Method of preparation:
Fig. 7: Methods of preparation of nano emulsions.
Fig. 7 Source: Ankur Gupta. 2016. Nanoemulsions: formation, properties and applications. Royal Society of chemistry.

13. STEPS IN FORMULATING AN EMULGEL
• Formulating an emulsion:
Pre- formulation studies.
Formulation of emulsion.
• Formulating a gel base.
• Formulation of an EMULGEL.
13
Fig. 5: Method of preparation of EMULGEL.
Fig. 5 source: Ashish Dev et al. 2015. Emulgels: a novel topical drug delivery system. Pharmaceutical and Biological Evaluations. 2(4).

14. EXCIPIENTS USED IN THE
FORMULATION OF EMULGELS
14
1. Vehicle
A) Aqueous Material:
o forms the aqueous phase of emulsion
o E.g. Water, alcohol
B) Oils
o form the oily phase of the emulsion
o E.g. Liquid paraffin, cottonseed oil, fish liver oil.

15. 2. Emulsifiers:
o used both to promote emulsification at the time of manufacture
and to control stability during a varying shelf life.
o E.g. Polyethylene glycol 40 stearate, Sorbitan mono-oleate
(Span 80), stearic acid.
3. Gelling agents:
o used to increase the consistency of any dosage form can also
be used as thickening agent
o To form the gel base in EMULGEL.
o E.g. Carbopol- 934, HPMC, Sodium CMC.
15

16. 4. Penetration enhancers:
o to promote absorption of drugs
o temporarily disrupts the skin barrier, fluidize the lipid channels
between corneocytes, alter the partitioning of the drug into
skin structures, or otherwise enhance delivery into skin.
o E.g. Clove oil, menthol, Cinnamon, lecithine
16

17. 17
CHARACTERIZATION
OF EMULGELS

18. PHYSICAL APPEARANCE
• The prepared emulsions were inspected visually for their
colour, homogeneity, consistency and pH.
• The pH values of 1% aqueous solutions of the emulgel were
measured by a pH meter.
18

19. SPREADING COEFFICIENT
• Spreadability is measured on the basis of ‘Slip” and ‘Drag’
characteristics of emulgels.
• It is calculated by:
• S= (Weight tied to upper slide).(Length of glass slides)
/(Time taken to separate the slides completely from each
other).
• A shorter interval indicates better spreadability.
19
Fig. 8: Spreadability apparatus
Fig. 8 Source: M. Pharm laboratory, C. U. Shah College of Pharmacy, Mumbai.

20. EXTRUDABILITY STUDY
• Measures the force required to extrude the material from tube.
• The quantity in percentage of emulgel extruded from
lacquered aluminium collapsible tube on application of weight
in grams required to extrude at least 0.5 cm ribbon of emulgel
in 10 seconds is calculated.
• More quantity extruded better is extrudability.
Extrudability = Applied weight to extrude emulgel from tube
(in gm) / Area (in cm2)
20

21. GLOBULE SIZE AND ITS DISTRIBUTION
• It is determined by Malvern zetasizer.
• Mean globule diameter and distribution was obtained.
RHEOLOGICAL STUDY
• The viscosity of the different emulgel formulations is
determined at 25°C using a cone and plate viscometer with
spindle 52 (Brookfield Engineering Laboratories).
21

22. SWELLING INDEX
• 1 gm of gel is taken on porous aluminium foil and then placed
separately in a 50 ml beaker containing 10 ml 0.1 N NaOH.
Then samples were removed from beakers at different time
intervals and put it on dry place for some time after it
reweighed.
• Swelling Index (SW) % = [(Wt – Wo) / Wo] × 100.
Where, (SW) % = Equilibrium percent swelling,
Wo = Original weight of emulgel at zero time after time t,
Wt = Weight of swollen emulgel
22

23. EX–VIVO BIOADHESIVE STRENGTH
MEASUREMENT OF TOPICAL EMULGEL
• Carried out on Mice shaven skin.
• Setup consists of 2 slides of same area, one attached to the
wooden block and other tied with the balance, on right hand
side, the fresh skin is kept along with the emulgel between
these slides. On left hand side, a pan consisting of weights is
tied with the balance.
• Bio adhesive Strength = Weight required (in g) /Area (cm2)
23
Fig. 9: Setup for bio adhesive test
Fig. 9 Source: Panwar A.S., Upadhyay N. 2011. EMULGEL: A REVIEW. Asian Journal of Pharmacy and Life Science. 1(3). 339.

24. DRUG CONTENT DETERMINATION
• Measured by UV spectrophotometer
INVITRO RELEASE STUDY
• Franz diffusion cell by applying the emulgel on egg membrane
is used for diffusion studies.
• The aliquots withdrawn from time-to-time were analysed for
drug content by UV visible spectrophotometer.
24

25. MICROBIOLOGICAL ASSAY
• Ditch plate technique on Sabouraud’s agar dried plates is
generally used.
• The cultured loops streaked across plates’ were incubated for
18- 24 hours at 25°.
• The fungal growth was observed and the percentage inhibition
is measured.
ACCELERATED STABILITY STUDY
• Stability studies are performed according to ICH guidelines.
• Formulation are stored in hot air oven at 37 ± 2°, 45 ± 2°C and
60 ± 2° for a period of 3 months.
• The samples are analysed for drug content every two weeks by
UV- Visible spectrophotometer.
25

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MARKETED PREPARATIONS
Product name Drug Manufacturer
Voltaren Emulgel Diclofenac diethyl
ammonium
Novartis Pharma
Miconaz-H
emulgel
Miconazole nitrate,
Hydrocortisone
Medical union
Pharmaceuticals
Dosanac
Emulsion gel
Diclofenac Siam
Pharmaceuticals
Diclomax
Emulgel
Diclofenac diethyl
amine
Torrent Pharma

27. 27
Fig. 10: Voltaren Emulgel
Fig. 11: Dosanac Emulgel
Fig. 10 Source:Yadav S. K., Mishra M. K. 2016. EMULGEL: A NEW APPROACH FOR ENHANCED TOPICAL DRUG DELIVERY. Int J Curr Pharm Res. 9(1), 1.
Fig. 11 Source: http://www.mims.com/thailand/company/info/siam%20pharmaceutical
Fig. 12, 13 Source: https://yaoota.com/en-eg/product/miconaz-h-20-gm-emulgel-price-from-seif-egypt
Fig. 12: Miconaz-H Emulgel
Fig. 13: Diclomax Emulgel

28. CONCLUSION
• Emulgels is one of the best approach for topical drug delivery
of hydrophobic drugs, as emulgels has several favourable
properties. Such as being thixotropic, greaseless, easily
spreadable, easily removable, emollient, non-staining, water-
soluble, longer shelf life, bio-friendly, transparent & pleasing
appearance.
• Various penetration enhancers can potentiate the effect.
• So this can be used as better topical drug delivery systems
over present conventional systems available in market.
28

29. REFERENCES
1. Kute, S.B. and Saudagar, R.B., 2013. Emulsified gel A Novel
approach for delivery of hydrophobic drugs: An overview. J.
Adv. Pharm. Edu. & Res, 3(4).
2. Singla V.K. et. al. 2012. Emulgel: a new platform for topical drug
delivery. International Journal of Pharma and Bio Sciences, 3(1).
3. Marwaha T.K. 2013. Formulation design and evaluation of herbal
anti- psoriatic emulgel. JPSI, 2(3); 30- 42.
4. Patil et al. 2014. Novel cosmeceutical herbal emulgel for skin
care. WJPPS, 3(4); 801-811.
5. Sultana Sk.S. et al. 2016. Formulation and evaluation of herbal
emulgel of Lantana camara leaves extract for wound healing in
diabetic rats. Indo American Journal of Pharmaceutical research,
6(8).
29

30. 6. Kale et. al. 2017. Emulsion, Micro-emulsion and Nano Emulsion.
Systemic Reviews in Pharmacy. 8(1); 39-47.
7. Patel RP and Joshi JR. 2012. An Overview on Nanoemulsion: A
Novel Approach. Int J Pharm Sci Res. 3(12); 4640-4650.
8. Cooper J.W., Gunn C. 1972. Tutorial Pharmacy. 3rd ed., CBS
Publishers & Distributors Pvt. Ltd., New Delhi. 264- 268.
9. Panwar A.S., Upadhyay N. 2011. EMULGEL: A REVIEW. Asian
Journal of Pharmacy and Life Science. 1(3). 338- 343.
10. Matthias Hloucha, BASF Personal Care and Nutrition GmbH,
Dusseldorf- Holthausen, Germany. 2015. Microemulsions. Wiley-
vch verlag gmbh & co. Kgaa, weinheim. 10.1002/14356007.
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