Composite polymeric microsponge‐based long‐acting gel formulation for topical delivery of mupirocin

Abstract Topical delivery of medicaments in a controlled manner is still a promising area of research. Drug‐containing dammar gum‐ethyl cellulose composite microsponge loaded gel formulation (D‐MSPG) was developed for controlled topical delivery of mupirocin. The drug‐loaded microsponges (D‐MSPs) were formulated by the quasi‐emulsion solvent diffusion method and were evaluated for morphology, particle size distribution, entrapment efficiency, thermal properties, and crystallinity. The optimized D‐MSPs (entrapment efficiency 91.5 ± 4.0% and particle size of 55.15 ± 2.9 μm) were dispersed in carbopol 934 gel (D‐MSPG). The final product was characterized for pH, viscosity, texture, spreadability, consistency, syneresis, in vitro drug release, and ex vivo skin penetration study. A comparative study with marketed formulation was performed. For optimized gel formulation (G4), drug content was 104.19 ± 1.68%, and drug release was 84.19% after 24 h. The pH of the optimized gel was observed to be 6.05 ± 0.04. Viscosity of the optimized gel formulation was found to be 1212.15 ± 434.85 mPa‐s at 50 s −1 . The steady‐state flux (J) in ex vivo skin permeation was observed to be 53.96 μg cm −2 h −1 and the permeability coefficient was 2.69 cm/h for the optimized gel formulation. According to the findings, the D‐MSPG‐based formulation strategy can act well to prolong the topical delivery of mupirocin or similar drug molecules.