Abstract
Nanostructured lipid carriers (NLC) exhibit high skin targeting efficiency and good safety. They are promising vehicles for topical drug delivery. This study aims to increase the skin distribution of podophyllotoxin (POD) by incorporating it into NLCs. Two kinds of POD-loaded NLCs (POD-NLCs)—POD-NLCformulation 1 and POD-NLCformulation 2—were prepared and characterized. Their skin targeting efficiencies were compared by conducting in vitro and in vivo experiments. Obviously smaller mean particle size was observed for POD-NLCformulation 1 (106 nm) than POD-NLCformulation 2 (219 nm), whereas relatively low POD loadings (less than 0.5%) were observed for both POD-NLCformulation 1 (0.33%) and POD-NLCformulation 2 (0.49%). Significantly higher in vitro and in vivo rat skin deposit amounts of POD (p ˂ 0.01) were detected after the topical application of POD-NLCformulation 1 compared to POD-NLCformulation 2. To visualize the skin distribution behavior of hydrophobic active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs) when NLCs were used as carriers, POD was replaced with Nile red (NR—a hydrophobic fluorescent probe), and the distribution behavior of NR-NLCformulation 1 and NR-NLCformulation 2 in rat skin in vivo was observed using confocal laser scanning microscopy (CLSM). Higher fluorescent intensity was observed in rat skin after the topical application of NR-NLCformulation 1 than NR-NLCformulation 2, suggesting that higher skin targeting efficiency might be obtained when NLCs with smaller mean particle size were used as carriers for hydrophobic APIs. This result was in accordance with those of skin distribution evaluation experiments of POD-NLCs. Skin irritation property of POD-NLCformulation 1 was investigated and no irritation was observed in intact or damaged rabbit skin, suggesting it is safe for topical use. Our results validated the safety of NLCs when applied topically. More importantly, mean particle size might be an important parameter for formulation optimization when NLCs are used as carriers for hydrophobic APIs for topical application, considering that their loading is relatively low.
Highlights
In the treatment of skin diseases, the efficacy of topical drugs depends on their ability to reach the desired site of action and remain at the site in an effective concentration for the appropriate time
Higher fluorescent intensity was observed in rat skin after the topical application of NR-NLCformulation 1 than NR-NLCformulation 2, suggesting that higher skin targeting efficiency might be obtained when Nanostructured lipid carriers (NLC) with smaller mean particle size were used as carriers for hydrophobic active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs)
Mean particle size might be an important parameter for formulation optimization when NLCs are used as carriers for hydrophobic APIs for topical application, considering that their loading is relatively low
Summary
In the treatment of skin diseases, the efficacy of topical drugs depends on their ability to reach the desired site of action (specific skin layers) and remain at the site in an effective concentration for the appropriate time. Conventional topical formulations, such as solutions, ointments, and gels are characterized by indiscriminate skin targeting properties and rapid drug release. When these vehicles are employed as carriers, topical drugs such as triamcinolone, 5α-dihydrotestosterone, and tretinoin exhibit poor therapeutic effects, as well as mild to severe local and systemic adverse. When used as topical carriers, liposomes can confer skin targeting and prolonged temporal release properties of the loaded drug They can act to reduce topical and systemic adverse reactions, because their small of particle sizedelivery enables closethat contact with superficial reactions [1,2,3]
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