Abstract

The aim of present study was to develop and evaluate novel in situ nanoemulgel (NEG) of azithromycin (AZM) with eugenol for intra-pocket drug delivery for the treatment of periodontitis. Nanoemulsions of AZM were developed by spontaneous emulsification method containing Eugenol (oil phase), Tween 80 (surfactant) and PEG 400 (co-surfactant) and double distilled water (aqueous phase). The nanoemulsions were evaluated for surface morphology, globule size, polydispersibility index (PDI), zeta potential and viscosity. The final nanoemulsion formulation was converted into gelling system by using polaxamer 407 as a gelling agent. The prepared nanoemulgel was further evaluated for drug content, pH, viscosity, syringeability, sol–gel transition temperature, in-vitro drug release and skin irritation test using HET-CAM assay. The optimized nanoemulsion formulation had 10% oil, 40% S_mix and 50% water with globule size, PDI and zeta potential as 31 ± 7 nm, 0. 285 ± 0.023 and − 23 ± 4 mV respectively. NEG of azithromycin showed good syringeability and viscosity proving its suitability of desired sol–gel property of formulation for periodontal drug delivery. In-vitro permeability results showed that NEG offered sustained release of AZM. HET-CAM assay revealed the non-irritancy of the developed NEG. The optimized NEG loaded with AZM was found to be suitable for intra-pocket drug delivery for sustained release effect.

Graphic Abstract