Volume-2 ,Issue-6, June- 2026

The present study was aimed at the development and evaluation of an Aceclofenac-loaded bigel system for enhanced topical delivery in the management of arthritic conditions. Aceclofenac, a non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug with limited aqueous solubility, was incorporated into a biphasic bigel system combining the advantages of both hydrogel and organogel networks to improve drug solubilization, stability, and topical performance. Preformulation studies including organoleptic evaluation, solubility analysis, melting point determination, partition coefficient determination, and FTIR compatibility studies were carried out to assess the suitability of the drug for formulation development. Various bigel formulations (B1–B10) were prepared using different hydrogel-to-organogel ratios and evaluated for physical appearance, homogeneity, pH, viscosity, spreadability, extrudability, drug content, in vitro drug release, and stability. The formulations exhibited acceptable physicochemical properties and good compatibility between the drug and excipients. Among the developed formulations, B5 demonstrated optimal characteristics with excellent physical stability, skin-compatible pH (6.10 ± 0.04), suitable viscosity (16050 ± 270 cP), satisfactory spreadability (18.1 ± 0.5 g•cm/sec), good extrudability (0.190 ± 0.006 g/sec), and high drug content (100.2 ± 0.6%). In vitro drug release studies showed sustained release behaviour, while stability studies conducted according to ICH guidelines confirmed the robustness and shelf-life stability of the optimized formulation. The results suggest that the Aceclofenac-loaded bigel system is a promising topical drug delivery platform for improving therapeutic efficacy and patient compliance in the treatment of arthritic conditions.

Keyword: Aceclofenac, Bigel, Organogel, Hydrogel, Topical Drug Delivery, Arthritis, In Vitro Drug Release, Stability Studies.