Microemulsion of lamotrigine for nasal delivery

Abstract

Epilepsy is a neurological disorder which requires quick management of seizures in order to avoid the risk of permanent brain damage. Intranasal administration allows transport of drugs to the brain circumventing BBB, thus providing a unique feature and better option to target drugs (for example lamotrigine) to the brain with quick onset of action in case of emergencies such as epilepsy. We have already reported microemulsion (ME) of lamotrigine for nasal delivery 1 . Further, previous studies on ME of tamoxifen citrate (hydrophobic drug) have demonstrated a dramatic increase in solubility with micellar and ME despite poor solubility of drug in oily phase 2 . This finding can be utilized in formulation of nasal ME of hydrophobic drugs. Improved solubilization by virtue of ME can exploited to accommodate higher drug concentration per unit nasal ME as nasal anatomy pose severe constraints on volume of formulation to be administered. This can aid reduction of dosage volume of nasal ME ultimately resulting in high patient compliance. The objective of present study was to evaluate the role of ME components in solubilization of lamotrigine. Ascertaining the role of ME components would create better understanding of the system for further formulation development.