Construction of a thermosensitive gel based on hydroxypropyl-β-cyclodextrin/meloxicam inclusion complexes for improving meloxicam solubility and prolonging drug retention time in the cornea

Drug Deliv Transl Res. 2025 Jan 23. doi: 10.1007/s13346-025-01797-w. Online ahead of print.

Abstract

The eyes are easily stimulated by external factors, which can cause inflammation. Anti-inflammatory drugs are usually used to inhibit the production of inflammatory factors. Many nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs have been used for the eye, but due to the poor solubility of meloxicam, there are currently no marketed meloxicam preparations for the treatment of eye diseases. This article uses hydroxypropyl-β-CD (HP-β-CD) to encapsulate meloxicam and combined with thermosensitive gel to prepare an HP-β-CD/meloxicam inclusion complex eye thermosensitive gel, which can improved the water solubility of meloxicam and extend the retention time of the drug in the cornea, and achieve the goal of slow release through continuous dissolution. It not only has the advantages of convenient administration and accurate dosage of eye drops, but also overcomes the disadvantage of easy loss of eye drops, showing the advantages of long retention time and fewer administration times, and provides a basis for the development of other dosage forms of meloxicam.

Keywords: Hydroxypropyl-β-cyclodextrin; Meloxicam; Solubilization; Thermosensitive gel.