Nanostructured Lipid Carrier for Topical Application of N-Acetyl Glucosamine

Decrypting the Potential of Nanotechnology-Based Approaches as Cutting-Edge for Management of Hyperpigmentation Disorder

The abundant synthesis and accretion of melanin inside skin can be caused by activation of melanogenic enzymes or increase in number of melanocytes. Melasma is defined as hyperpigmented bright or dark brown spots which are symmetrically distributed and have serrated and irregular borders. The three general categories of pigmentation pattern include centro facial pattern, malar pattern, and mandibular pattern. Exposure to UV rays, heat, use of cosmetics and photosensitizing drugs, female sex hormonal therapies, aberrant production of melanocyte stimulating hormone, and increasing aesthetic demands are factors which cause the development of melasma disease. This review gives a brief overview regarding the Fitzpatrick skin phototype classification system, life cycle of melanin, mechanism of action of anti-hyperpigmenting drugs, and existing pharmacotherapy strategies for the treatment of melasma. The objectives of this review are focused on role of cutting-edge nanotechnology-based strategies, such as lipid-based nanocarriers, i.e., lipid nanoparticles, microemulsions, nanoemulsions, liposomes, ethosomes, niosomes, transfersomes, aspasomes, invasomes penetration-enhancing vesicles; inorganic nanocarriers, i.e., gold nanoparticles and fullerenes; and polymer-based nanocarriers i.e., polymeric nanoparticles, polymerosomes, and polymeric micelles for the management of hyperpigmentation.

Development, characterization, molecular docking, and in vivo skin penetration of coenzyme Q10 nanostructured lipid carriers using tristearin and stearyl alcohol for dermal delivery

OBJECTIVES

This study aims to develop coenzyme Q10 nanostructured lipid carriers (NLCs) using tristearin and stearyl alcohol as well as isopropyl palmitate (IPP) as solid and liquid lipid respectively for the dermal delivery system.

METHODS

The coenzyme Q10 NLCs were optimized using tristearin, and stearyl alcohol in different concentrations and further characterized by dynamic light scattering (DLS) for particle size, polydispersity index (PDI), zeta potential, differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) and X-ray diffractometry for crystallinity behavior, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR) for drug-lipid interaction, scanning electron microscopy (SEM) for particle shape, viscometer for viscosity, and pH meter for pH value. Furthermore, entrapment efficiency (EE), drug loading (DL), and skin penetration in vivo were also evaluated while molecular docking was conducted to examine the interaction between coenzyme Q10 and the lipids.

RESULTS

The coenzyme Q10 NLCs with tristearin-IPP and stearyl alcohol-IPP as lipid matrix had <1,000 nm particle size, <0.3 PDI, less negative than -30 mV zeta potential, about 41% crystallinity index, and about six as the pH value. Moreover, the EE, DL, viscosity, and in vivo skin penetration of the NLCs using tristearin were higher compared to stearyl alcohol, however, the skin penetration depths for both NLCs were not significantly different. Furthermore, the in silico binding energy of coenzyme Q10-tristearin was lower compared to coenzyme Q10-stearyl alcohol. Both of them showed hydrophobic and van der Waals interaction.

CONCLUSIONS

The NLCs of coenzyme Q10 were formulated successfully using tristearin-IPP and stearyl alcohol-IPP for dermal delivery.

Recent Advances in Nanomaterials for Dermal and Transdermal Applications

The stratum corneum, the most superficial layer of the skin, protects the body against environmental hazards and presents a highly selective barrier for the passage of drugs and cosmetic products deeper into the skin and across the skin. Nanomaterials can effectively increase the permeation of active molecules across the stratum corneum and enable their penetration into deeper skin layers, often by interacting with the skin and creating the distinct sites with elevated local concentration, acting as reservoirs. The flux of the molecules from these reservoirs can be either limited to the underlying skin layers (for topical drug and cosmeceutical delivery) or extended across all the sublayers of the epidermis to the blood vessels of the dermis (for transdermal delivery). The type of the nanocarrier and the physicochemical nature of the active substance are among the factors that determine the final skin permeation pattern and the stability of the penetrant in the cutaneous environment. The most widely employed types of nanomaterials for dermal and transdermal applications include solid lipid nanoparticles, nanovesicular carriers, microemulsions, nanoemulsions, and polymeric nanoparticles. The recent advances in the area of nanomaterial-assisted dermal and transdermal delivery are highlighted in this review.

Nanostructured Lipid Carriers as Potential Drug Delivery Systems for Skin Disorders

Background:

Skin diseases affect all the age groups of people and have an impact on patients’ physical, mental, and emotional status. Conventional topical preparation is limited with its efficacy due to low permeation, frequent application, and poor adherence to the therapy for prolong time.

Objective:

The objective of this review article is to address the emerging trends of nanotechnology derived lipidic carrier systems for an effective treatment for skin disorders.

Methodology:

Various research and review articles from reputed international journals were referred and compiled.

Results and Discussion:

opical drug delivery systems were found to be more effective than oral and parenteral drug delivery systems for treating skin diseases due to targeted localized applications with reduced side effects. Lipid-based nanoparticles have been found to have the potential in treating skin diseases due to the biocompatibility and the versatility of the lipids. Nanostructured lipid carriers (NLCs) have gained much attention in treating skin diseases due to improved stability of the drugs, enhanced skin permeation, retention, and better therapeutic efficacy. The review summarizes the NLCs characteristics and their application for topical delivery of various therapeutics in skin disorders. NLCs have shown great potential in effective drug delivery for the treatment of psoriasis, dermatitis, bacterial infections, and skin cancer. Its cosmetic application has opened a new area for skincare. Furthermore, safety and clinical status revealed its future commercial acceptability.

Conclusion:

NLCs have been found as effective lipid nanocarriers for the delivery of topical therapeutics.

Nanostructured lipid carriers: A potential use for skin drug delivery systems

Skin application of pharmaceutical products is one of the methods used for drug administration. The problem of limited drug penetration via topical application makes searching for safe drug carriers that will provide an expected therapeutic effect of utmost importance. Research into safe drug carriers began with liposome structures, paving the way for work with nanocarriers, which currently play a large role as drug vehicles. Nanostructured lipid carriers (NLC) consist of blended solid and liquid lipids (oils) dispersed in an aqueous solution containing a surfactant. These carriers have many advantages: good biocompatibility, low cytotoxicity, high drug content; they enhance a drug's stability and have many possibilities of application (oral, intravenous, pulmonary, ocular, dermal). The following article presents properties, methods of preparation and tests to assess the quality and toxicity of NLC. This analysis indicates the possibility of using NLC for dermal and transdermal drug application.

Development and characterization of new and scalable topical formulations containing N-acetyl-d-glucosamine-loaded solid lipid nanoparticles

N-Acetyl-d-glucosamine (NAG) has been recently considered for topical treatment of hyperpigmentation disorders due to its inhibitory effect on thyrosinase enzymes in melanocytes. NAG is a precursor of hyaluronic acid, increasing its amount in skin, and consequently, preserving the skin hydration and elasticity. It may also act as an emulsion stabilizer. Solid lipid nanoparticles (SLN) are advanced delivery systems successfully used in pharmaceutical and cosmetic formulations for the improvement of active molecules penetration into the skin. Therefore, this work aimed to develop and characterize stable and scalable topical formulations containing NAG-loaded SLN. NAG was incorporated in SLN which were prepared by two high shear homogenizers and characterized regarding its morphology and particle size by transmission electron microscopy and photon correlation spectroscopy, respectively. Oil emulgel and hydrogel were used as carriers of NAG-loaded SLN. Several parameters were evaluated, including the droplet size distribution, rheology, pH and topical delivery by different techniques. It was observed that SLN size was significantly dependent on NAG incorporation and homogenization process. Most tested SLN parameters appeared to be quite suitable, that is, spherical and well-defined SLN with approximately 258 nm and -30 mV. Hereafter, both gels containing SLN presented a pseudoplastic flow. Emulgel formulation containing NAG-loaded SLN allowed a higher NAG permeation through the SC compared to the respective control (about 0.8 μgcm^-2h^-1). According to the results obtained, it can be suggested that NAG acts as an emulsion stabilizer. This stabilization was also particularly dependent on the homogenizer type which is quite important for scale-up process. This study demonstrated the potential of scalable SLN formulations to improve NAG topical delivery contributing to the improvement of skin properties on several skin disorders.