S B Shirsand

Present study has been an effort towards improving the skin penetration of Minoxidil by encapsulating it in niosomes. Niosomal formulations of Minoxidil were prepared by thin film hydration method using two different surfactants like sorbitan monoesters (span 40, 60) and polysorbate (tween 60) with cholesterol. The prepared niosomes were evaluated for size, shape, entrapment efficiency and in-vitro drug release. Niosomes were spherical in shape and size range was found to be 4.10±1.05 to 6.74±2.99 μm. The entrapment efficiency was found in the range of 36.74±0.84 to 61.16±0.36 % at the end of 24hrs. Among all the Minoxidil niosomes the promising formulation were found to be of span 60 and cholesterol in the ratio of 1:0.2 and were incorporated into carbopol gel. The prepared gel was characterised for appearance, pH, drug content, viscosity and in-vitro drug release. The in-vitro drug release study was carried out using phosphate buffer saline (PBS) pH 7.4 and was found to be 42.16±1.94% at the end of 12 hrs.