ABSTRACT
This study aimed to develop a propellant-free topical spray formulation of Etodolac (BCS-II), a potent NSAID, which could be beneficial in the medical field for the effective treatment of pain and inflammation conditions. The developed novel propellant-free spray formulation is user-friendly, cost-effective, propellant-free, eco-friendly, enhances the penetration of Etodolac through the skin, and has a quick onset of action. Various formulations were developed by adjusting the concentrations of different components, including lecithin, buffering agents, film-forming agents, plasticizers, and permeation enhancers. The prepared propellant-free spray formulations were then extensively characterized and evaluated through various in vitro, ex vivo, and in vivo parameters. The optimized formulation exhibits an average shot weight of 0.24 ± 0.30 ml and an average drug content or content uniformity of 87.3 ± 1.01% per spray. Additionally, the optimized formulation exhibits an evaporation time of 3 ± 0.24 min. The skin permeation study demonstrated that the permeability coefficients of the optimized spray formulation were 21.42 cm/h for rat skin, 13.64 cm/h for mice skin, and 18.97 cm/h for the Strat-M membrane. When assessing its potential for drug deposition using rat skin, mice skin, and the Strat-M membrane, the enhancement ratios for the optimized formulation were 1.88, 2.46, and 1.92, respectively against pure drug solution. The findings from our study suggest that the propellant-free Etodolac spray is a reliable and safe topical formulation. It demonstrates enhanced skin deposition, and improved effectiveness, and is free from any skin irritation concerns.
Subject(s)
Administration, Cutaneous , Etodolac , Skin Absorption , Skin , Animals , Etodolac/administration & dosage , Etodolac/pharmacokinetics , Etodolac/chemistry , Rats , Mice , Skin Absorption/physiology , Skin/metabolism , Skin/drug effects , Male , Anti-Inflammatory Agents, Non-Steroidal/administration & dosage , Anti-Inflammatory Agents, Non-Steroidal/pharmacokinetics , Acute Pain/drug therapy , Chemistry, Pharmaceutical/methods , Permeability , Rats, Sprague-Dawley , Drug Compounding/methodsABSTRACT
More than 150 million people have significant fungal diseases that greatly impact health care and economic expenditures. The expansion of systemic fungal infections and invasive mycoses is being driven by an increase in the number of immunocompromised patients and the recent COVID-19 patients, especially severely ill. There have been numerous cases of fungal infections linked to COVID-19, with pulmonary aspergillosis dominating at first but with the subsequent appearance of mucormycosis, candidiasis, and endemic mycoses. Candida spp. is the most frequent pathogen, with approximately 1 billion infections yearly, among other species causing the most prevalent invasive fungal infections. The importance of recognizing the epidemiological shifts of invasive fungal infections in patient care cannot be overstated. Despite the enormous antifungal therapies available, these infections are difficult to diagnose and cause high morbidity and mortality rates. Treatment choices for systemic fungal infections are severely limited due to the limitations of conventional therapy effectiveness and drug toxicities. So the researchers are still looking for novel therapeutic options, such as carrier-based approaches that are convenient and cost-effective with high and long-lasting fungal infection cure rates with reduced toxicities. The focus of this study is on summarizing the nanotechnology, immunotherapy methods and the drugs under clinical trials that have been employed in treatment as carrier-based antifungal formulations. Most of these have been reported to be promising strategies with broad-spectrum antifungal action and the potential to overcome antibiotic resistance mechanisms. We speculate that this review summarized the current knowledge to its best that will help the future developments of new antifungal therapies.
