FORMULATION DEVELOPMENT AND EVALUATION OF ILAPRAZOLE MULTIPLE EMULSION

Dr. Archana Kajale Kulkarni*, Miss. Tejal Wagh, Miss. Rohini Tikhe, Miss. Srushti Waghmare, Miss. Srushti Thombare

ABSTRACT

Emulsions are heterogeneous systems composed of two immiscible or inadequately miscible liquid phases, where one liquid is dispersed in the form of droplets within the other. These systems can be broadly classified into simple emulsions such as oil-in-water (O/W) or water-in-oil (W/O) emulsions, as well as more complex or multiple emulsions including water-in-oil-in-water (W/O/W) and oil-in-water-in-oil (O/W/O) types. Additionally, specialized forms like microemulsions and fine emulsions exist, which differ mainly in droplet size and stability characteristics. Among these, W/O/W multiple emulsions have attracted considerable interest in pharmaceutical research as effective drug delivery systems. In this study, the drug Ilaprazole, a proton pump inhibitor is used to reduce gastric acid secretion, was utilized to formulate multiple emulsions. Different surfactant combinations were tested to optimize the emulsion characteristics. The first set included formulations F1, F2, and F3, which were prepared using varying ratios of Span and Tween surfactants: F1 (Span 40: Tween 80), F2 (Span 60: Tween 80), and F3 (Span 80: Tween 80), all in a 3:5 ratio. Another set of emulsions—F4, F5, F6, and F7—were prepared with different Span and Tween combinations: F4 (Span 40: Tween 40), F5 (Span 40: Tween 20), F6 (Span 40: Tween 40), and F7 (Span 40: Tween 60), in a 5:7 ratio. Among them, formulation F7 exhibited the most desirable characteristics, providing a slow and steady release of Ilaprazole compared to the other formulations. Due to its superior performance, F7 was selected and further optimized as the preferred formulation for sustained drug delivery.

Keywords: Multiple Emulsions, Ilaprazole, Emulsifying agent, formulation approach, evaluation, surfactant.