Preparation and Evaluation of Nystatin-Loaded Solid-Lipid-Nanoparticles for Topical Delivery

The purpose of present study was to prepare SLN incorporating an antifungal drug such as Nystatin and study its effect on skin localization of drug when administered through a suitable semisolid vehicle such as gel. The success of a new developed pharmaceutical formulation is related to the fact that it is able to deliver the active substance to the target organ at therapeutically relevant levels, with negligible discomfort and side effects. Topical administration of active substances offers several attractions compared to traditional routes, e.g. it avoids the hepatic first-pass metabolism, it has the potential of long-term controlled release with avoidance of the topical peak-through plasma profiles associated with frequent dosage regiments. For the selected SLN delivery system GMS, Span 60 and tween 80 were used as formulation ingredients determined by pre-optimization study. Box Behnken design was used for optimization study; The optimized formulation was evaluated for particle size, percent entrapment efficiency, XRD, FTIR and DSC to confirm the formation of SLN and entrapment of Nystatin in SLN which was formulated as a gel by using different concentration of Carbopol 940 with 0.4 % gel which was finalized, and pseudo plastic behavior was observed by rheology study. After various process conditions, Nystatin in the Ny-SLN was found to be effective against Candida albicans. The result of stability study indicates no significant difference between the parameters tested before and after the stability studies.