Development and Evaluation of Eberconazole-Loaded Niosomes

Abstract

Invasive fungal infections require a long treatment schedule; however, treatment has become more cumbersome due to the development of resistance. Most antifungal moieties show systemic toxicity upon oral administration, leading to delivery of antifungal moieties via a topical route. Eberconazole (EBZ) is a BCS class II drug that has poor solubility and high permeability. It is a broad-spectrum imidazole derivative, which acts as a both fungicidal and fungistatic drug by inhibiting ergosterol synthesis. Various topical creams of EBZ are available in the market, but the lack of a proper dosing schedule and rapid removal lead to poor bioavailability. Niosomes are vesicular carriers that can entrap both hydrophilic and lipophilic drugs. Niosomal formulations have been prepared using Span20 (nonionic surfactant) and cholesterol by thin-film hydration (TFH) technique. During preformulation studies, the purity of EBZ was ascertained using FT-IR and melting point studies, while the standard calibration curve was prepared using UV-visible spectroscopy. The prepared niosomal formulations were characterized for their morphology, entrapment efficiency, particle size, and zeta potential. The formulation has shown 86 ± 0.85% entrapment efficiency, while the noisome appeared in a ring-like structure during its microscopic evaluation. Further evaluations of in vitro and in vivo release studies will be performed in the future for its efficacy and antifungal activity.