DESIGNING AND CHARACTERIZATION OF ECONAZOLE NITRATE NANOSTRUCTURED LIPID CARRIERS GEL FOR TOPICAL DELIVERY

Prakash Chandra Gupta*, Anupriya Kapoor and Prashant Pandey

ABSTRACT

The focus of present work was to prepare and evaluate Econazole nitrate (ECN) loaded Nanostructured lipid carriers (NLCs) to elevate the topical efficacy of the drug for cure of fungal infections. ECN loaded NLCs were formulated by high speed homogenization followed by sonication technique using oleic and stearic acid as a liquid lipid and solid lipid, respectively. Tween 80 and sodium lauryl sulfate (SLS) were used as surfactant. DSC and XRD studies revealed transformation of crystalline nature of ECN to amorphous form. The selected NLCs formulation showed 18.26 ± 5.62 μm mean diameter with polydispersity index 0.612 and zeta potential -51.2 ± 7.23 mV that impart good stability. SEM analysis displayed smooth discrete somewhat spherical particles. The selected NLCs dispersion was gelled in carbopol and assessed for physical parameters like appearance, viscosity and spreadibility. In-vitro release of selected ECN loaded NLCs gel formulation showed 73.8% drug release over 9 hours of study. Therefore, it can be deduced that ECN loaded NLCs gel prolongs the duration of drug release and can be used as effective drug delivery method for cure of fungal infections.

Keywords: Econazole nitrate; Nanostructured lipid carriers; Drug delivery; Scanning electron microscopy.