Formulation & Evaluation of polymer-based P-Coumaric acid hydrogel for wound healing.

The present study involves the formulation and evaluation of a polymer-based hydrogelcontaining P-Coumaric acid for enhanced wound healing. A transdermal drug delivery system,hydrogel has been selected as the carrier because it has the ability to absorb large amounts of water.These are non-toxic, non-irritating and rehydrates the wound bed, alleviating pain. The studiesregarding Preformulation were conducted. Drug authenticity was checked using Melting Point(~213 o C) and by U.V. Spectrophotometry (absorption maxima = 310 nm) respectively. FT- IRstudy of drug authenticity was done and specific peaks of functional groups were noted. Thehydrogels have been formulated using different polymer concentrations namely Carbopol 934 andHPMC K100M. Five batches F1-F5 have been prepared and analyzed on the basis of physicalparameters, pH, spreadability, viscosity and drug content. All batches showed pH in the range 5.78-5.84, so no irritation to human skin. Batch F4 proved to be optimum on the basis of washabilityand extrudability, so polymer composition was optimum for the usage. Spreadability increases aspolymer concentration increases (17.65 - 28.85 gcm/sec). Drug content was found to be 97.4 -99.8%. The study was carried out by using cellophane membrane as the diffusion barrier by invitro drug release. The data obtained from in-vitro drug release follows the diffusion mechanism(following the Higuchi and Korsmeyer-Peppas model). Concluded that this P-Coumaric acidloaded hydrogel is a stable, uniform and effective topical delivery system, providing sustainedantimicrobial and antioxidant action in wound management.