Abstract:
The bioavailability of conventional nasal solutions is very poor due to mucocilliary clearance, enzyme activity present in nasal mucosal membrane and drainage which remove rapidly various foreign substances including drug from the surface of the nasal. Frequent instillation of drug solution is necessary to maintain a therapeutic drug level in the nasal or at the site of action but the frequent use of highly concentrated solution may induce toxic side effects due to highly vascularized systemic absorption of drug. The recent trends in nasal drug delivery are in situ gelling systems. Ampicillin sodium is a β-lactum antibiotic belonging to amino penicillin family. In this investigation pH triggered nasal in situ gelling system was formulated by using carbopol 934 and HPMC K4M , it was evaluated for several parameters like drug-polymer interaction, appearance, clarity, pH measurement, drug content (%), gelling capacity, gelation time,  viscosity, in vitro drug release studies, comparative diffusion studies and short term stability studies. In the developed selected formulation which exhibits 7th h 65.2% release with non-irritating, sterile and stable properties thus increasing residence time of drug with better patient compliance. Comparative diffusion studies showed to sustain release of drug for 7h than marketed nasal drops for 2h, so it was concluded that Ampicillin sodium in situ gel is a viable alternative to conventional system.

Keywords: Ampicillin Sodium, β-lactum Antibiotic, In Situ Gel, Carbopol 934, HPMC K4M pH Triggered Method.