Design and development of essential oil based nanoemulsion for topical application of triclosan for effective skin antisepsis.

The skin acts as a physical barrier to protect the body from the external physical and chemical environment. When skin is infected, the outer epidermal barrier is compromised and colonized with microbial growth. Wound infection presents an immense burden on healthcare costs and decreased the quality of life for patients. The topical application of nanoemulsions (NE) at pathological sites offers the potential advantage of direct drug delivery to the skin including the potential for follicular targeting. This may have application in the improvement of skin antisepsis. In this study, NEs of triclosan (TSN) were prepared using hot high shear homogenization followed by ultrasonication. The oil phases comprised eucalyptus oil (EO) and olive oil (OO) and pseudo-ternary phase diagrams were used to select optimum concentrations of surfactant. EO-based NEs had smaller droplet sizes and higher entrapment efficiency compared to OO-based NEs. Skin permeation was higher for EO-containing formulations, likely due to the higher solubility of TSN in EO, smaller droplet size, low viscosity, and permeation enhancement effects of EO. Significantly, TSN was retained within the skin, demonstrating the potential of NEs for targeting hair follicular delivery within the skin, which may help improve the success of topical antisepsis.

Nanoemulsions for enhanced skin permeation and controlled delivery of chlorohexidine digluconate.

Chlorhexidine digluconate (CHG) is a widely used antiseptic for skin disinfection, as it exhibits poor skin permeability. Therefore, aim of the present study was preparation and evaluation of CHG nanoemulsions (NEs) using high-speed homogenisation (HSH) combined with ultra-probe sonication to improve skin permeability. CHG-NEs were prepared using eucalyptus oil (EO) and olive oil (OO), with a surfactant-to-cosurfactant ratio of 2:1. Optimised NEs had a mean droplet diameter of 257.5 ± 12.4 nm and PDI of 0.56 ± 0.13. In In vitro permeation studies EO based NEs delivered more CHG into the skin, 6.15 ± 0.12 µg/mg compared to 3.01 ± 0.02 µg/mg for a control solution. Additionally NEs were incorporated into an in situ forming dressing and results showed controlled delivery of CHG within skin. Together, these findings bring new possibilities for topical antimicrobial treatment and prophylactic strategies in wound management.

Drug Delivery Approaches for Managing Overactive Bladder (OAB): A Systematic Review.

Overactive bladder syndrome (OAB) is characterised by urgency symptoms, with or without urgency incontinence, usually with frequency and nocturia and severely affects the quality of life. This systematic review evaluates the various drug delivery strategies used in practice to manage OAB. Advanced drug delivery strategies alongside traditional strategies were comprehensively analysed and comparatively evaluated. The present review was conducted according to the preferred reporting items for systematic reviews and meta-analyses guidelines. A total of 24 studies reporting the development of novel formulations for the treatment of OAB were considered eligible and were further categorised according to the route of drug administration. The review found that various drug delivery routes (transdermal, intravesicular, oral, vaginal and intramuscular) are used for the administration of drugs for managing OAB, however, the outcomes illustrated the marked potential of transdermal drug delivery route. The findings of the current review are expected to be helpful for pharmaceutical scientists to better comprehend the existing literature and challenges and is anticipated to provide a basis for designing and fabricating novel drug delivery systems to manage OAB.

Solid lipid nanoparticles for targeted delivery of triclosan into skin for infection prevention.

Healthcare-associated infections (HAIs) are a concern for health service providers, exacerbated by poor delivery of antimicrobials to target sites within the skin. The dermal route is attractive for local and systemic delivery of drugs, however; permeation, penetration, and access to deeper skin layers are restricted due to the barrier function of the stratum corneum (SC). Solid lipid nanoparticles present several benefits for topical delivery for therapeutic applications, especially via the follicular route. Hair follicles, surrounded by a close network of blood capillaries and dendritic cells, are an important target for delivery of antimicrobials and present a unique microbial nidus for endogenous infections in situations where the barrier is disrupted, such as after surgery, for example, triclosan, a broad-spectrum antimicrobial agent, was encapsulated into nanoparticles using glyceryl behenate and glyceryl palmitostearate (GP) solid lipids, and incorporating Transcutol P, a known permeation enhancer at different ratios. Optimised formulation was stable over 90 d and in vitro permeation studies using full thickness porcine ear skin showed that the lipid-based nanoparticles enhanced delivery of triclosan into the skin and could direct the agent towards hair follicles, indicating their potential as a carrier system for antiseptic dermal delivery.

Lipid nanoparticles for dermal drug delivery.

Lipid based drug delivery systems have been widely studied and reported over the past decade and offer a useful alternative to other colloidal drug delivery systems. Skin is a popular route of drug delivery for locally and systemically acting drugs and nanoparticles are reported as a potential formulation strategy for dermal delivery. Although the skin acts as a natural physical barrier against penetration of foreign materials, including particulates, opportunities exist for the delivery of therapeutic nanoparticles, especially in diseased and damaged skin and via appendageal routes such as the openings of hair follicles. The extent and ability of nanoparticles to penetrate into the underlying viable tissue is still the subject of debate although recent studies have identified the follicular route as the most likely route of entry; this influences the potential applications of these dosage forms as a drug delivery strategy. This paper reviews present state of art of lipid-based nanocarriers focussing on solid lipid nanoparticles, nanostructured lipid carriers and nanoemulsions, their production methods, potential advantages and applications in dermal drug delivery.