TRANSFERSOMES AS A TRANSDERMAL DRUG DELIVERY SYSTEM FOR ENHANCEMENT THE ANTIFUNGAL ACTIVITY OF NYSTATIN

摘要

Objective: Transdermal drug delivery has made an important contribution to medical practice, but has yet to fully achieve its potential as an alternative to oral delivery and hypodermic injections. Various new technologies have been developed for the transdermal delivery of some important drugs. Physical and chemical means of crossing the lipophilic stratum corneum, the outermost layer of the skin, are being explored. The goal of the present study was to formulate and evaluate the potential use of transfersomal vesicles as a transdermal drug delivery system for poorly soluble drug, Nystatin. Methods: It was investigated by encapsulating the drug in various transfersomal formulations composed of various ratios of Phospholipone H 100, Span 80, Tween 80 and sodium deoxycholate prepared by lipid film hydration by rotary evaporation sonication method. The prepared formulations were characterized for light microscopy, and evaluated for particle shape, entrapment efficiency (EE%), stability, and in vitro skin permeation. Results: The vesicles were spherical in structure as confirmed by Transmission Electron Microscopy. The EE% of nystatin in the vesicles was in the range of 50-70%. The result revealed that Nystatin in all of the formulations was successfully entrapped with uniform drug content. In vitro skin permeation studies were carried by abdominal rabbit skin using a dissolution-dialysis apparatus fabricated in our laboratory. The amount of drug deposited in the skin and the amount permeated were higher in case of transfersomes with an enhancement ratio of 2.59, when c ompared to liposomes and the commercial product. Conclusion: It is evident from this study that transfersomes are a promising prolonged delivery system for Nystatin and have reasonably good stability characteristics. This research suggests that nystatin loaded transfersomes can be potentially used as a transdermal drug delivery system