A major problem in ocular therapeutics is the attainment of optimal drug concentration at the site of action, which is compromised mainly due to precorneal loss resulting in only a small fraction of the drug being ocularly absorbed. The effective dose administered may be altered by increasing the retention time of medication into the eye by using in situ gel forming systems. The aim of the present investigation is to prepare and evaluate novel in situ gallen gum based ophthalmic drug delivery system of ciprofloxacin hcl and dexamethasone. All the formulations were sterilized in an autoclave at 121°C for 15mins. The formulations were evaluated for clarity, pH measurement, gelling capacity, drug content estimation, rheological study, in vitro diffusion study and ICH stability studies. The developed formulations exhibited sustained release of drug over a period of 7 hours thus increasing residence time of the drug and optimized formulations also found satisfactorily stable, thus these in situ gelling systems may be a valuable alternative to the conventional systems.
