Abstract

Aceclofenac is a non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug used to manage osteoarthritis. However, its limited solubility, short half-life, and gastrointestinal side effects on chronic use limit its delivery via the oral route. This study used hyaluronic acid tailored with oleic acid via esterification to formulate micelles for aceclofenac topical delivery. The prepared micelles were characterized for average particle size, size distribution, surface charge, drug loading, entrapment efficiency, and surface morphology. The drug loading, entrapment efficiency, mean particle size, and zeta potential of micelles were 8.21 ± 0.3%, 81.25 ± 2.98%, 245.93 ± 7.68 nm, and −17.6 ± 1.95 mV, respectively. The prepared micelles were found to be spherical. The micelles were further loaded in chitosan gel and evaluated for drug release, skin permeation, and deposition. The hydrogel showed shear thinning behavior, sustained drug release, enhanced skin permeation, and deposition of aceclofenac. Further, the pharmacodynamic study revealed a significant reduction in pain and inflammatory response with an improved radiological and histopathological condition in the animal models. These results show the potential of hyaluronic acid oleic acid conjugate micellar gel as a promising carrier to deliver the poorly soluble small molecules like aceclofenac topically to manage the inflammatory condition.

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