Preparation and in vitro evaluation of in situ gelling system containing lithium for parenteral administration

Psychological diseases which comprise conception and behavior disorders due to genetic and/or environmental reasons are well known since the beginning of humankind. Among the psychological diseases, affective disorder classified as bipolar disorder appear with clinical symptoms of depressive and manic attacks. Lithium is the principal and most effective drug in the treatment of bipolar disorder since the middle of the previous century. However, narrow therapeutic range and side effect profile of lithium necessitate its careful and controlled use. Patient compliance is highly needed for commercially available lithium product administration. Taking the psychological status of patients with bipolar disorder into account, patient compliance seems to be an inappropriate approach for treatment. In situ gelling system which can minimize the need of patient compliance and owns the property of keeping lithium release in the therapeutic range was aimed to be prepared in this thesis. For the in situ gelling systems prepared, physicochemical characteristics both at room and body temperatures were evaluated and stability studies were achieved according to ICH standards. The system prepared was determined to demonstrate prolonged release and to show the desired characteristics when compared to the commercially available preparation. Keywords: Bipolar disorder, Lithium, In situ gelling system, Controlled release