Abstract

DRUG DELIVERY SYSTEM FOR TOPICAL TREATMENT OF INFLAMMATORY SKIN DISEASES

Ravi Kumar Mehta*, Kritika Modak and Sudipta Modak

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Abstract

The skin is known to be the primary intact skin layer for the application of cosmetics and medicines. One of the main goals in the galenic development of innovative topical treatment options for inflammatory skin diseases such as psoriasis and atopic dermatitis is to selectively deliver the drug at the inflammation site. Recent studies have highlighted the beneficial use of polymeric nanoparticles for antiinflammatory therapy and topical anti-inflammatory drug delivery due to their ability to form a drug reservoir retaining the drug locally at the site of action. Our approach consisted in designing innovative topical semi-solid formulations of poly(lactic acid) (PLA) nanoparticles as anti-inflammatory drug vehicles for local treatment of inflammatory skin diseases. In the course of this work, five topical formulations containing fluorescent PLA nanoparticles were initially developed, and then screened depending on their physio-chemical properties, toxicity and delivery efficacy. The penetration and permeation of a fluorophore vectorized by PLA nanoparticles into healthy and inflammatory skin were assessed using an alternative device to classical Franz cells: Vitro BioPharma. All these investigations led to the selection of two satisfactory formulations out of five initial candidates.

Keywords: Skin inflammatory disease, Gluco-corticosteroids, Topical drug delivery system, Solid lipid nanoparticles.