Enhancement of 8-methoxypsoralen topical delivery via nanosized niosomal vesicles: Formulation development, in vitro and in vivo evaluation of skin deposition

Treatment of Psoriasis: Novel Approaches to Topical Delivery

Topical treatment is the cornerstone for the management of mild to moderate psoriasis. Despite efforts in drug development, patient's satisfaction with the available topical treatments is limited. A strategy to improve safety, efficacy and comfort of topical treatment provides the development of new drug delivery and drug carrier systems. This review provides an overview of recent advances in this field with a focus on psoriasis. Laser-assisted drug delivery, foam formulations, nanoparticles, ethosomes, and niomes are considered. Hopefully, these new developments will improve topical drug therapy and patient satisfaction.

Nanocarriers for Topical Drug Delivery: Approaches and Advancements

Background:

Delivery of drugs through the skin has been an attractive as well as a challenging area for research. Topical drug delivery has provided enormous advantages over the systemic route for various drugs and one of the important amongst them is reduced toxicity due to a minimum or zero exposure to non-target organs.

Methods:

Various nanocarrier loaded topical preparations including organogels, emulgels, niosomal gel, lyotropic liquid crystal based gels, etc have been investigated for their topical application. Nanocarriers loaded topical preparation have been proven for improved permeation through the cutaneous barrier and delivering the drug at the target site. The objective of this review is to study the recent updates regarding newer topical gel formulations and highlighting their current potential and future scope of the same.

Results:

The present work has summarized different studies related to nanotechnology derived topical gel formulations and also enlisted few drugs which have been successfully formulated as novel topical gels. Advancement in nanocarriers loaded topical preparations have also been reviewed with their permeation and efficacy compared to conventional formulations.

Conclusion:

The present review will provide an overview of nanotechnology based topical preparation to the readers and will create curiosity for further development.

Recent advances in non-ionic surfactant vesicles (niosomes): Fabrication, characterization, pharmaceutical and cosmetic applications

Development of nanocarriers for drug delivery has received considerable attention due to their potential in achieving targeted delivery to the diseased site while sparing the surrounding healthy tissue. Safe and efficient drug delivery has always been a challenge in medicine. During the last decade, a large amount of interest has been drawn on the fabrication of surfactant-based vesicles to improve drug delivery. Niosomes are self-assembled vesicular nano-carriers formed by hydration of non-ionic surfactant, cholesterol or other amphiphilic molecules that serve as a versatile drug delivery system with a variety of applications ranging from dermal delivery to brain-targeted delivery. A large number of research articles have been published reporting their fabrication methods and applications in pharmaceutical and cosmetic fields. Niosomes have the same advantages as liposomes, such as the ability to incorporate both hydrophilic and lipophilic compounds. Besides, niosomes can be fabricated with simple methods, require less production cost and are stable over an extended period, thus overcoming the major drawbacks of liposomes. This review provides a comprehensive summary of niosomal research to date, it provides a detailed overview of the formulation components, types of niosomes, effects of components on the formation of niosomes, fabrication and purification methods, physical characterization techniques of niosomes, recent applications in pharmaceutical field such as in oral, ocular, topical, pulmonary, parental and transmucosal drug delivery, and cosmetic applications. Finally, limitations and the future outlook for this delivery system have also been discussed.

Use of transethosomes for enhancing the transdermal delivery of olmesartan medoxomil: in vitro, ex vivo, and in vivo evaluation

Introduction and aim

Olmesartan medoxomil (OLM) is an antihypertensive drug with low oral bioavailability due to extensive first-pass metabolism. This study aimed to prepare transetho somes (TEs) for enhancing the transdermal delivery of OLM to avoid its oral problems.

Methods

TE formulae were prepared utilizing 51.31 full factorial design using various surfactants (SAAs) and different phospholipid-to-SAA ratios. The formulae were characterized regarding their entrapment efficiency percentage (EE%), particle size (PS), polydispersity index (PDI), zeta potential (ZP), and the amount of drug released after 6 hours (Q6h). Design Expert^® software was employed to select the optimum formula.

Results

The optimum formula (TE14) had an EE% of 58.50%±1.30%, PS of 222.60±2.50 nm, PDI of 0.11±0.06, ZP of -20.80±0.30 mV, and Q6h of 67.40%±0.20%. In addition, TE14 was compared to transferosomes (TFs) in terms of elasticity and was found to show higher deformability index. Further, evaluation of ex vivo permeation using both rat and shed snake skin showed higher permeability of TE14 compared to TFs and OLM suspension. Confocal laser scanning microscopy confirmed the capability of the fluorolabeled TE14 to penetrate deep within the skin, while the histopathological study confirmed its safety. TE14 successfully maintained normal blood pressure values of rats up to 24 hours. Moreover, TE14 showed superiority in dermatokinetic study when compared with drug suspension.

Conclusion

Taken together, the obtained results confirmed the potential of employing TEs as a successful carrier for the transdermal delivery of OLM.

Niosomes encapsulated in biohydrogels for tunable delivery of phytoalexin resveratrol

A series of biohydrogels based on mixtures of kappa-carrageenan (κ-carrageenan, κ-C) and gelatin were evaluated as potential soft delivery vehicles for the encapsulation and subsequent release of non-ionic surfactant vesicles (niosomes) loaded with resveratrol (RSV). The niosomes were prepared using a mixture of amphiphilic lipids Tween 80 and Span 80 in water. The results showed that RSV-niosomes did not significantly affect the hydrogelation properties of the biopolymer mixture. Moreover, in vitro drug release experiments from biohydrogels containing RSV-niosomes were successfully carried out under simulated gastrointestinal conditions. The RSV-niosomal liberation profiles from hydrogels were fitted using first order kinetics, Higuchi, Korsmeyer-Peppas and Weibull drug release models, showing the prevalence of diffusion mechanisms in each case. In addition, the RSV release was easily tuned by adjusting the total concentration of κ-C : gelatin. Interestingly, the niosomal-hydrogel system was also found to prevent the trans-to-cis photoisomerization of RSV.

Amine derivatives of furocoumarin induce melanogenesis by activating Akt/GSK-3β/β-catenin signal pathway

Background

Melanogenesis, or the biosynthesis of melanin, plays a critical role in the pigmentation of skin, hair, and eyes. Reduced melanogenesis may lead to depigmentation conditions such as vitiligo. Psoralen, a furocoumarin derivative, is closely associated with melanogenesis, and its derivative 8-methoxypsoralen is used in psoralen and ultraviolet A therapy for pigmentation disorders. In a previous study, we synthesized a new series of amine derivatives of furocoumarin, of which 5-(morpholinomethyl)-3-phenyl-7H-furo[3,2-g]chromen-7-one (encoded as D206008) showed a remarkable melanogenic effect in B16 murine cells.

Methods

In this study, we examined the effects of D206008 on the melanogenesis-related pathways in B16 cells. D206008 increased melanin production and tyrosinase (TYR) activity, as well as the mRNA and protein expression levels of the melanogenic enzymes TYR, TRP-1 and TRP-2, and the melanogenesis-related transcription factor microphthalmia-associated transcription factor (MITF) in a dose-dependent (0–100 µM) and time-dependent (0–48 hours) manner.

Results

Mechanistically, D206008 inhibited β-catenin degradation by enhancing the phosphorylation of Akt and glycogen synthase kinase-3β (GSK-3β), which increased the accumulation of β-catenin in the cytoplasm. Nuclear translocation of β-catenin also increased in response to D206008 treatment.

Conclusion

Taken together, these data indicate that D206008 promotes melanin synthesis by stimulating the nuclear translocation of β-catenin, which activates MITF transcription and eventually melanogenesis.

Niosomes: a review of their structure, properties, methods of preparation, and medical applications

Target-specific drug-delivery systems for the administration of pharmaceutical compounds enable the localization of drugs to diseased sites. Various types of drug-delivery systems utilize carriers, such as immunoglobulins, serum proteins, synthetic polymers, liposomes, and microspheres. The vesicular system of niosomes, with their bilayer structure assembled by nonionic surfactants, is able to enhance the bioavailability of a drug to a predetermined area for a period. The amphiphilic nature of niosomes promotes their efficiency in encapsulating lipophilic or hydrophilic drugs. Other additives, such as cholesterol, can be used to maintain the rigidity of the niosomes’ structure. This narrative review describes fundamental aspects of niosomes, including their structural components, methods of preparation, limitations, and current applications to various diseases.

Vesicles: Potential nano carriers for the delivery of skin cosmetics

In the present scenario, consumers are searching for personal care products that supply multiple benefits with minimal efforts. The outcome has been the introduction of nanotechnology-based cosmetic products that are safe to use and results driven. Some topical cosmetics can act efficaciously when they reach their target sites present in the deeper layers of the skin. The main problem with delivering active ingredients across the skin is the barrier function of the skin. Therefore, to get the maximum benefit from cosmetic products and to overcome the problems associated with their skin penetration, scientists are investigating various strategies to overcome these barrier properties. Vesicular carriers have been claimed to improve the topical delivery of active ingredients. This review offers a brief overview of current approaches in the research and development of vesicular carriers to improve the delivery and performance of active ingredients present in the cosmetics.