Preparation and evaluation of transdermal gel loaded with spanlastics containing meloxicam

: A transdermal drug delivery system (TDDS) is characterized by the application of medications onto the skin's surface to deliver drugs at a controlled and predefined rate through the skin. Spanlastics, an elastic nanovesicle capable of transporting various pharmacological substances, shows promise as a drug delivery carrier. It offers numerous advantages over traditional vesicular systems applied topically, including enhanced stability, flexibility in penetration, and improved targeting capabilities. This study aims to develop meloxicam (MX)-loaded spanlastics gel as skin delivery carriers and to look into the effects of formulation factors like Tween80, Brij 35, and carbopol concentration on the properties of spanlastics gel, like pH, drug content, extrudability, spreadability diameter, viscosity, and release profiles in addition to Ex vivo skin permeation for optimal formula. The optimal formula of spanlastics gel (GF1) shows acceptable pH (6.2 +/- 0.14), excellent extrudability( 92%), drug content (97.1 +/- 0.14), spreadability diameter (cm) (10.8 +/- 0.28), sustained release 70.7 +/- 0.57% for six hours and the steady-state flux of meloxicam through rat skin was increased 83.52- fold as a result of spanlastics in comparison to the plain gel. The vesicles produced in this investigation could potentially interact with or merge with the stratum corneum as a result of their elasticity, which may also be the mechanism that increases the penetration into the skin. According to our findings, dermal delivery vehicles for MX may be provided via spanlastics gel.