EHDA engineering of Piroxicam-PVP components for pharmaceutical dosages

This study aimed to prepare piroxicam loaded polyvinyl pyrollidone (PVP) particulate mat, fabricated mat incorporated tablets and coated polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) films. The mat, engineered by using electrohydrodynamic atomisation (EHDA) technique, was evaluated for morphological features and particle size using scanning electron microscopy. In vitro drug release, ex vivo skin permeation and in vivo anti-inflammatory studies of oral (i.e., tablets) and topical (i.e., films) dosage forms were conducted to assess the efficiency of prepared formulations. The EHDA processed piroxicam-PVP components exhibited spherical shape, uniform surface and particle size of 3.67 ± 0.70 μm. The piroxicam mat incorporated oral and coated topical formulations exhibited release percentage of 73.79 ± 1.9% and 80.11 ± 2.3% respectively over a time period of 180 min. During ex vivo permeation study, treatment of rat skin using 500 μm microneedles led to a higher permeation of piroxicam (from coated films i.e., 75.54 ± 2.2% as compared to unpierced skin i.e., 58.23 ± 2.7% with a gradient of 0.28 and 0.21 respectively within 240 min. During in vivo anti-inflammatory study, a 52.58 ± 3.2% decrease in paw inflammation was observed in mat incorporated tablets administered group within 360 min. In comparison, topical application of coated films led to a 67.28 ± 2.9% decrease in inflammation. Microneedle treatment followed by topical application of coated films resulted in an 81.43 ± 3.1% reduction in paw inflammation over 360 min. Micropiercing of the skin resulted in breaching of uppermost skin barrier layer stratum corneum leading to an increased piroxicam permeation and rapid therapeutic response. It was concluded that EHDA processed mat incorporated tablets and coated topical films can serve as a promising choice for improving the solubility of poorly soluble piroxicam and oral/topical anti-inflammatory therapy.