The present work was undertaken, for arriving at a sustained release topical formulation of celecoxib with the aim of prolonged skin retention of the drug leading to availability of the active form of the drug in the required level resulting in enhanced therapeutic efficacy through reduced toxicity. The novel formulation chosen for the present study is SLN due to its high and proven profile on research for topical drug delivery. The positives of SLN are it comprise of lipid whereas celecoxib is also lipophilic in nature which may produce a strong bond resulting in a delayed release of the drug; and the skin exposure of the drug can be reduced as the drug is encapsulated in the lipid matrix. The size of SLN can be achieved as decided to retain on skin, because smaller particle size i.e. less than 500 nm, may be absorbed into the skin; SLN can be incorporated into gel in ease: the stability of SLN over other novel delivery system is very high; SLN is a biological preparation which is non toxic in nature.

Keyword: Characterization, In Vitro Release, Preformulation and celecoxib