Subject(s)
Antifungal Agents/administration & dosage , Clothing , Clotrimazole/administration & dosage , Tinea Pedis/drug therapy , Antifungal Agents/therapeutic use , Capsules , Chitosan/administration & dosage , Clotrimazole/therapeutic use , Double-Blind Method , Drug Carriers/administration & dosage , Female , Humans , MaleABSTRACT
In this paper, a simple and versatile coacervation technique has been developed by using an ultrasound-assisted oil/water emulsion method for the preparation of antifungal agent-loaded microcapsules. Two types of chitosan microcapsules are successfully prepared. The mean particle size of the chitosan/miconazole nitrate microcapsules is 2.6 µm and that of the chitosan/clotrimazole microcapsules is 4.1 µm. The encapsulation efficiency of the chitosan/miconazole nitrate microcapsules (77.58-96.81%) is relatively higher than that of the chitosan/clotrimazole microcapsules (56.66-93.82%). The in vitro drug release performance of the microcapsules shows that the chitosan/miconazole nitrate microcapsules release about 49.5% of the drug while chitosan/clotrimazole microcapsules release more than 66.1% of the drug after 12h under a pressure of 5 kg at pH 5.5, which is similar to the pH of human skin. The prepared drug-loaded microcapsules could be applied onto bandages or socks, and will continuously release antifungal drugs in a controlled manner under pressure.
