Abstract
The present study describes the synthesis of novel bigels as delivery matrices for controlled delivery applications. The bigels were prepared by mixing agar hydrogel and stearyl alcohol oleogel in different proportions. The microscopic analysis of the bigels suggested the formation of biphasic bigels at lower proportions of oleogel and bicontinuous bigel at higher proportions. Stress relaxation study was used to analyze the mechanical properties. The viscoelastic property of the bigels was estimated by modeling the relaxation profile using Weichert model of viscoelasticity. The analysis of the electrical property of the bigels showed an increase in the impedance values as the oleogel content was increased. Further, a corresponding decrease in the electrical stability of the bigels was observed with an increase in the oleogel proportion. The analysis was prepared using (RQ)Q equivalent electrical circuit model. The ciprofloxacin hydrochloride release from the bigels was predominantly diffusion-mediated as analyzed by Korsmeyer-Pappas and Peppas-Sahlin models.