Abstract

Cromolyn sodium ocular films were prepared by solvent casting technique using polyvinyl alcohol and sodium alginate with glycerin and polyethylene glycol 400 as plasticizers. The physicochemical parameters like thickness, percent elongation at break, tensile strength and drug content uniformity of the ocular films were evaluated. In vitro drug release from the formulations was studied and the formulation that shows better release behavior was subjected to in vivo studies on rabbits. The results of formulations F3 (1% polyvinyl alcohol) and F4 (1.5% sodium alginate) indicated a strong positive correlation of in vitro and in vivo drug release, which follow zero order kinetics and non-fickian in nature. It was also concluded that sodium alginate and poly vinyl alcohol are good film forming agents and in the presence of plasticizer (PEG 400) they are promising controlled release ocular delivery systems for cromolyn sodium.