Research Article Newly Developed Topical Cefotaxime Sodium Hydrogels: Antibacterial Activity and In Vivo Evaluation Azza S. Zakaria, 1,2 Samar A. Afifi, 1,3 and Kadria A. Elkhodairy 4 1 Department of Pharmaceutics, College of Pharmacy, King Saud University, P.O. Box 22452, Riyadh 11495, Saudi Arabia 2 Department of Microbiology, Faculty of Pharmacy, Alexandria University, P.O. Box 21500, Alexandria 21527, Egypt 3 Department of Pharmaceutics, National Organization for Drug Control and Research, P.O. Box 35521, Giza 12561, Egypt 4 Department of Industrial Pharmacy, Faculty of Pharmacy, Alexandria University, P.O. Box 21500, Alexandria 21527, Egypt Correspondence should be addressed to Kadria A. Elkhodairy; elkhodairy53@yahoo.com Received 18 January 2016; Revised 6 April 2016; Accepted 13 April 2016 Academic Editor: Kamla Pathak Copyright © 2016 Azza S. Zakaria et al. Tis is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. In an attempt to reach better treatment of skin infections, gel formulations containing Cefotaxime (CTX) were prepared. Te gel was formulated using Carbopol 934 (C934), Hydroxypropyl Methylcellulose 4000 (HPMC 4000), Carboxymethylcellulose Sodium (Na CMC), Pectin (PEC), Xanthan Gum (XG), or Guar Gum (GG). Tirteen diferent formulas were prepared and characterized physically in terms of color, syneresis, spreadability, pH, drug content, and rheological properties. Drug-excipients compatibility studies were confrmed by FTIR and then in vitro drug release study was conducted. In vitro and in vivo antibacterial activities of CTX were studied against wound pathogens such as, Staphylococcus aureus (S. aureus), Escherichia coli (E. coli), and Pseudomonas aeruginosa (P. aeruginosa), using either pure drug or Fucidin5 cream as control. F13 provides better spreadability compared to F1 (XG) or F11 (HPMC). Moreover, the release of the drug from hydrogel F13 containing C934 was slower and sustained for 8h. Stability study revealed that, upon storage, there were no signifcant changes in pH, drug content, and viscosity of the gels. Also, F13 showed the larger inhibition zone and highest antibacterial activity among other formulations. Histological analysis demonstrated that afer single treatment with F13 gel formulation, a noticeable reduction in microbial bioburden occurred in case of both Gram positive and Gram negative bacterial isolates. 1. Introduction Several antimicrobial agents are available in the market in diferent pharmaceutical dosage forms for the treatment of skin and sof tissue infections (SSTIs). Tese preparations are designed to be administered either orally or parenterally or topically. Topical preparations have several benefts com- pared with systemic therapy [1, 2]. Initially, the required con- centration for antibiotic activity at the skin target site may be more easily achieved afer topical dosing. Moreover, topical administration results in much lower undetectable systemic levels [3]. Additionally, it can avoid an unnecessary exposure of gut fora that may exert selection for resistance. Terefore, topical application of antimicrobial agents is considered an important alternative using the stratum cornea as the target organ of various antibiotic drug treatments [1]. Controlled release of antibiotics at site of infection is a new strategy being employed to treat chronic infections [4, 5]. Localized delivery systems, based on biodegradable poly- mers, are capable of slowing and controlling drug release for a certain period of time, with initial burst efect to circumvent the infection. Hydrogels, swollen three-dimensional networks of hydrophilic polymers held together by association bonds or cohesive forces, are of special interest in controlled release applications, because of their sof tissue biocompatibility, the ease with which drugs are dispersed in matrix, and the high degree of control achieved by selecting the physical and chemical properties of polymer network. Hydrogels have been investigated extensively for application as carriers in difusion-controlled release devices [6]. Hydrogels are a common form of topical application. Tey achieve sustained Hindawi Publishing Corporation BioMed Research International Volume 2016, Article ID 6525163, 15 pages http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2016/6525163