With the emergence of novel and more effective drug therapies, increased importance is being placed upon the drug delivery technology. Topical formulations are attractive alternatives to oral formulations and offer several advantages, such as avoiding first-pass hepatic metabolism and gastric degradation. The major obstacle to drug delivery across the skin (transdermal) is the barrier nature of...

The aim of this work was to develop and evaluate solid lipid nanoparticles (SLN) containing all-transretinoic acid (ATRA) for topical delivery. SLN composed of coconut oil and curdlan improved the suspension instability of ATRA in aqueous solution. The photodegradation of ATRA by light was reduced by incorporation in SLN. The loading efficiency of ATRA in SLN was higher than 95% (w/w). The amou...

The purpose of this work was to explore the feasibility of ethosomes for improving the antiarthritic efficacy of tetrandrine by topical application. It was found that tetrandrine was a weak base (pK(a) = 7.06) with pH-dependent partition coefficient. The spherical-shaped ethosomes were prepared by pH gradient loading method. Ex vivo permeation and deposition behavior demonstrated that the drug ...

Skin, being the largest organ of the body, is an important site for drug administration. However, most of the drugs have poor permeability and thus drug delivery through the skin is very challenging. In this study, we examined the transdermal delivery capability of IMT-P8, a novel cell-penetrating peptide. We generated IMT-P8-GFP and IMT-P8-KLA fusion constructs and evaluated their internalizat...

In pharmaceutical industry, various controlled released dosage forms like solid formulation, semi solid formulation and topical preparation have more importance due to efficacy and patient compliance. Topical preparations have some disadvantages like unpleasant odour, greasiness and skin irritation and fail to reach the systemic circulation in sufficient amounts in few cases. This problem is ov...

BACKGROUND Psoriasis is an autoimmune disease that is caused by a shift in the Th1/Th2 balance toward Th1-dominant immunity. It has been established as an effective treatment to counteract psoriasis by subcutaneous injection of recombinant interleukin (IL)-4, and IL-4 gene therapy by topical transdermal penetration has shown its antipsoriatic effect in mice. Retinoic acid (RA) and dimethylsulfo...

The purpose of this review is to give an insight into the considerable potential of lecithin based nanocarriers. The lecithin microemulsion and closely related microemulsion based systems are currently of interest to pharmaceutical researchers. Conventional systems for topical delivery of drugs meet many hindrances like reduced permeation and entrapment efficiency. Lecithin nanocarriers with th...

We examine the progress that has been made towards the development of topical treatments for premature ejaculation (PE). Although generally regarded as one of the most common male sexual problems, the lack of approved pharmacological agents for PE means that treatment options are limited to behavioural therapy, where available, and the use of drugs 'off-label'. There are various theories on the...

Psoriasis is a chronic inflammatory skin disorder that may drastically impair the quality of life of a patient. Among the various modes of treatments for psoriasis, topical therapy is most commonly used in majority of patients. The topical formulations based on conventional excipients could serve the purpose only to a limited extent. With the advent of newer biocompatible and biodegradable mate...