Formulation and Optimization of a Niosomal Gel for Transdermal Drug Delivery of Baclofen for treating alcohol dependence

Alcohol Use Disorder (AUD) is a condition that has severe physical, mental, emotional and social impact on the patient as well as those they are in contact with. Conventionally Baclofen has been used orally as a tablet but owing to its short half-life requires frequent administration that results in poor patient compliance. The current research aims to formulate a sustained release niosomal gel of baclofen that can be applied once a day in order to alleviate the withdrawal symptoms associated with AUD. Thin film hydration method was used to formulate the niosomes followed by sonication in order to achieve a particle size of 225 + 27 nm with an entrapment efficiency of 80 + 9%. The vesicular structure and particle size was confirmed by using Transmission Electron Microscopy. Differential scanning calorimetry was done in order to verify the drug encapsulation within the niosomal vesicles. The concentration of the polymer and permeation enhancer was varied in order yield the optimized niosomal gel batch. The in vitro diffusion studies indicated an initial burst release followed by a steady release of the drug from the gel formulation. Physical evaluation of the optimized gel was performed. The pH was found to be 6.1 + 0.5 while the rheological study exhibited thixotropy. Thus, a niosomal gel was successfully developed for reducing the oral dosing frequency and also minimizing the adverse effects in the treatment of chronic alcohol dependence.