Abstract
In the current research, the main focus was to overcome dermal delivery problems of atorvastatin. To this end, atorvastatin solid lipid nanoparticles (ATR-SLNs) were prepared by ultra-sonication technique. The prepared SLNs had a PDI value of ≤ 0.5, and the particle size of nanoparticles was in the range 71.07 ± 1.72 to 202.07 ± 8.40 nm. It was noticed that, when the concentration of lipid in ATR-SLNs increased, the size of nanoparticles and drug entrapment efficiency were also increased. Results showed that a reduction in the HLB of surfactants used in the preparation of SLN caused an increase in the particle size, zeta potential (better stability), and drug entrapment efficiency. Despite Tween and Span are non-ionic surfactants, SLNs containing these surfactants showed a negative zeta potential, and the absolute zeta potential increased when the concentration of Span 80 was at maximum. DSC thermograms, FTIR spectra, and x-ray diffraction (PXRD) pattern showed good incorporation of ATR in the nanoparticles without any chemical interaction. In vitro skin permeation results showed that SLN containing atorvastatin was capable of enhancing the dermal delivery of atorvastatin where a higher concentration of atorvastatin can be detected in skin layers. This is a hopeful promise which could be developed for clinical studies of the dermal delivery of atorvastatin nanoparticles as an anti-inflammatory agent.
Highlights
To achieve a better transdermal delivery, it is important to overcome skin barriers, the stratum corneum [1]
Atorvastatin is a highly lipophilic drug in nature [10] and its anti-inflammatory effect on topical administration is comparable with the topical formulation of betamethasone which could be an alternative drug in the treatment of scalp seborrheic dermatitis [11]
As the main goal was to overcome the dermal delivery issue of atorvastatin, atorvastatin solid lipid nanoparticle delivery via skin was optimized by changing the HLB values between 9.1 and 15.6 in the preparation of solid lipid nanoparticles (SLNs)
Summary
To achieve a better transdermal delivery, it is important to overcome skin barriers, the stratum corneum [1]. As SLNs do not show any significant interaction with the stratum corneum and skin layers, and they have a strong potential to enhance the skin permeation of drugs, SLNs have been considered as a good platform for effective skin delivery for drugs [5]. They are composed of lipids which are uniformly dispersed in an aqueous surfactant solution [6]. Many publications have shown that the type and the amount of surfactant and lipid can have an influence on SLN properties, there are only two publications that studied
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a call
