Development, Formulation and Evaluation of Tobramycin-Loaded Hydrogel for Enhanced Antimicrobial Activity
Keywords:
Tobramycin, Hydrogel, Carbopol 934, HPMC, Antimicrobial activity, Controlled drug deliveryAbstract
The present investigation aimed to develop and evaluate a tobramycin-loaded hydrogel for effective topical antimicrobial therapy. Conventional antibiotic dosage forms often suffer from poor patient compliance, systemic toxicity, and frequent dosing requirements. To overcome these limitations, a hydrogel-based drug delivery system was formulated using Carbopol 934 and Hydroxypropyl Methylcellulose (HPMC) as polymeric matrices. Tobramycin, a broad-spectrum aminoglycoside antibiotic, was incorporated into the hydrogel to achieve localized and sustained drug release. Preformulation studies confirmed the suitability of the drug for hydrogel formulation, with a λmax of 210 nm and high aqueous solubility. The prepared hydrogel was evaluated for physicochemical properties including pH, viscosity, Spreadability, homogeneity, extrudability, and drug content uniformity. The optimized formulation exhibited a pH of 6.6 ± 0.1, viscosity of 18,500 ± 250 cP, and drug content of 98.6 ± 1.2%, indicating good stability and uniformity. In-vitro drug release studies demonstrated a sustained release profile over 12 hours, with 96.8% cumulative drug release. Release kinetics followed the Higuchi model (R² = 0.981), indicating diffusion-controlled drug release. Antimicrobial activity studies revealed significant inhibitory effects against Staphylococcus aureus, Escherichia coli, and Pseudomonas aeruginosa, with the highest activity observed against Pseudomonas aeruginosa. Stability studies confirmed that the formulation remained stable under storage conditions without significant changes in physicochemical properties. The findings suggest that the developed tobramycin hydrogel is a promising candidate for topical antimicrobial therapy with improved efficacy, sustained drug release, and enhanced patient compliance1,5..
Downloads
References
1. Lane DD, Fessler AK, Goo S, Williams DL, Stewart RJ. Sustained tobramycin release from polyphosphate double network hydrogels. Acta Biomaterialia. 2017; 50:484–492. doi: 10.1016/j.actbio.2016.12.030
2. Shi M, Xu Y, Li S, Wang L, Gu J, Zhang Y X. Polysaccharide based hydrogel encapsulating tobramycin microspheres as antibacterial system. Gels. 2023;9(3):219.
3. Zhou Z, Seta J, Markel DC, Song W, Yurgelevic SM, Yu XW, Ren W. Release of vancomycin and tobramycin from polymethylmethacrylate cements with calcium polyphosphate hydrogel. Journal of Biomedical Materials Research Part B. 2018;106B (8):2827–2840.
4. Song S, Ye Z, Jia D, Li M, Yang C, Qin M, Wu K, Ran J, Liang L. Hydrogel beads with sustained tobramycin/baicalin delivery for bacterial keratitis. Journal of Materials Chemistry B. 2026; DOI:10.1039/D5TB01273B
5. Huang Y, Mu L, Zhao X, Han Y. Smart release self healing hydrogel for infected burn wound healing. ACS Nano. 2022.
6. Darode AJ, Parameswari P, Shaikh DA, Arora P, Das S, Solanki SN, Maratha S, Attri K. Tobramycin loaded in situ gelling system for ocular drug retention. Journal of Neonatal Surgery. 2025.
7. Aulton’s Pharmaceutics – The Design and Manufacture of Medicines. 5th ed. Elsevier; 2020.
8. Lachman L, Lieberman HA, Kanig JL. The Theory and Practice of Industrial Pharmacy. 3rd ed. Varghese Publishing; 1986.
9. Peppas NA, et al. Hydrogels in pharmaceutical formulations. European Journal of Pharmaceutics and Biopharmaceutics. 2000.
10. Siepmann J, Peppas NA. Modeling of drug release from delivery systems based on hydroxypropyl methylcellulose (HPMC). Advanced Drug Delivery Reviews. 2001.
11. Balasubramaniam J, Kumar PV, Jayakumar R. Chitosan hydrogel for sustained drug release. Carbohydrate Polymers. 2019.
12. Khare S, et al. Stimuli responsive polymers in drug delivery. Journal of Applied Polymer Science. 2000.
13. Wang Y, Tu S, Pinchuk AN, Xiong MP. Active drug encapsulation and release kinetics from hydrogel in liposome nanoparticles. Journal of Colloid and Interface Science. 2013.
14. Singh BN, et al. Stability studies of topical formulations. Journal of Pharmaceutical Sciences. 2012.
15. Vyas SP, Khar RK. Targeted and Controlled Drug Delivery. CBS Publishers; 2012.
16. Shojaei AH. Stability of topical formulations. Journal of Pharmaceutical Sciences. 1998.
17. Yu L, Ding J. Injectable hydrogels as unique biomedical materials. Chemical Society Reviews. 2008.
18. Gupta R, et al. antimicrobial activity of polymeric hydrogels. Journal of Applied Polymer Science. 2019.
19. Kamoun EA, et al. Polymeric hydrogels: characterization and biomedical applications. Journal of Materials Chemistry B. 2017.
20. Li Y, Rodrigues J, Tomás H. Injectable and biodegradable hydrogels. Chemical Society Reviews. 2012.
21. Hoffmann J, et al. Diffusion and release mechanisms from hydrogels. Journal of Controlled Release. 2019.
22. Ruel Gariépy E, Leroux JC. In situ hydrogel formation for drug delivery. Journal of Controlled Release. 2004.
23. Zhu J. Bioactive modification of poly(ethylene glycol). Biomaterials. 2010.
24. Slaughter BV, et al. Hydrogels in regenerative medicine. Advanced Materials. 2009.
25. Lee KY, Mooney DJ. Alginate hydrogel dressings for wound healing. Progress in Polymer Science. 2012.
Downloads
Published
How to Cite
Issue
Section
License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
You are free to:
- Share — copy and redistribute the material in any medium or format
- Adapt — remix, transform, and build upon the material for any purpose, even commercially.
Terms:
- Attribution — You must give appropriate credit, provide a link to the license, and indicate if changes were made. You may do so in any reasonable manner, but not in any way that suggests the licensor endorses you or your use.
- No additional restrictions — You may not apply legal terms or technological measures that legally restrict others from doing anything the license permits.
