Meloxicam self-nano-emulsifying drug delivery system with surfactants combination: Formulation and in vitro release model

Background: Meloxicam has low water solubility, which affects the dissolution and level of absorption. Objective: The study aimed to develop a self-nano-emulsifying drug delivery system (SNEDDS) based on a non-ionic surfactant combination and evaluate the release kinetics model using the DDsolver program. Methods: Oil, surfactant, and co-surfactant were selected based on the solubility of meloxicam. Results: The best formula showed that 10% of castor oil, 70% of surfactant (tween 80: chromophore RH 40 in 1:1), and 20% of PEG 400 could develop SNEDDS with the 99.84±0.04% percentage of transmittance, 15.47±0.72 sec emulsifying time, and below 50 nm droplet size. The optimised formula is also stable and resistant to various dilutions and pH The dissolution efficiency (DE0-60) reveals a 5.27-fold increase compared to non-SNEDDS meloxicam. Meloxicam follows Korsmeyer-Peppas release kinetics, while meloxicam SNEDDS follows the Hixon-Crowell model. Conclusion: The best formula of SNEDDS consisting of a surfactant combination generate improvement in vitro dissolution of meloxicam.