Chitosan Nanoparticles Loaded Poloxamer 407 Gel for Transungual Delivery of Terbinafine HCl

Kamran Hidayat Ullah; Faisal Rasheed; Iffat Naz; Naveed Ul Haq; Humaira Fatima; Nosheen Kanwal; Tofeeq Ur-Rehman

doi:10.3390/pharmaceutics14112353

Chitosan Nanoparticles Loaded Poloxamer 407 Gel for Transungual Delivery of Terbinafine HCl

Pharmaceutics. 2022 Oct 31;14(11):2353. doi: 10.3390/pharmaceutics14112353.

Authors

Kamran Hidayat Ullah¹, Faisal Rasheed², Iffat Naz³, Naveed Ul Haq¹, Humaira Fatima¹, Nosheen Kanwal⁴, Tofeeq Ur-Rehman¹

Affiliations

¹ Department of Pharmacy, Quaid-i-Azam University, Islamabad 45320, Pakistan.
² Patient Diagnostic Lab, Isotope Application Division (IAD), Pakistan Institute of Nuclear Science and Technology (PINSTECH), Nilore, Islamabad 45650, Pakistan.
³ Department of Biology, Science Unit, Deanship of Educational Services, Qassim University, Buraidah 51452, Saudi Arabia.
⁴ Department of Biochemistry, Science Unit, Deanship of Educational Services, Qassim University, Buraidah 51452, Saudi Arabia.

Abstract

The current study aimed to develop chitosan nanoparticles (CSNP) loaded poloxamer 407 (P407) gel formulation for transungual delivery of terbinafine HCl (TBN). TBN-CSNP were prepared by nanoprecipitation method and optimized by face-centered central composite design (FCCCD). Optimized TBN-CSNP formulation exhibited a spherical shape with hydrodynamic diameter; zeta potential and entrapment efficiency (EE) of 229 ± 5 nm; 37 ± 1.5 mV; and 75 ± 2% respectively. The solid state of TBN and its compatibility with formulation ingredients were confirmed through XRD and FTIR analysis respectively. TBN-CSNP loaded P407 gel exhibited pseudoplastic rheological behavior having a spreadability of 11 ± 2 g·cm/s. The washability study showed that 40 ± 2% of the gel was eroded after washing 12 times. Drug release from TBN-CSNP- and TBN-CSNP-loaded gel was 84 ± 5% and 57 ± 3%, respectively. The cumulative quantity of TBN permeated from TBN-CSNP-loaded P407 gel and TBN-loaded P407 gel was 25 ± 8 and 27 ± 4 µg/cm², respectively. The nail uptake study showed that 3.6 ± 0.7 and 2.1 ± 0.3 µg of rhodamine was uptaken by the nail following 2 h topical application of TBN-CSNP loaded P407 gel and TBN loaded P407 gel, respectively. Hence, the developed CSNP-based P407 gel formulation can be a potential carrier for transungual delivery of TBN to topically treat onychomycosis.

Keywords: chitosan nanoparticles; face-centered central composite design; onychomycosis; poloxamer 407 gel; transungual drug delivery.

Grants and funding

This research received no specific external funding, however, Higher Education Commission of Pakistan supported Kamran Hidayat Ullah (for fellowship under Indigenous PhD fellowship program) and Tofeeq Ur-Rehman (for some of chemicals, glassware, and equipment under National Research Program for Universities).