Enhanced Bio-Adhesion and Sustained Delivery of Clotrimazole Encapsulated Solid Lipid Nanoparticles Loaded in Hyaluronic Acid Gel as Anti- Fungal Therapy

Aim: Clotrimazole (CTZ) is a broad spectrum anti-fungal drug which faces inability to retain over skin for longer duration and faces systemic side effects. The rationale behind present research effort was to attain sustained release of drug by lipid nanocarriers, enhance absorption by prolonged retention of gel and improve the patient compliance by reducing the dosing frequency.

Study Design: CTZ solid lipid nanoparticles (SLN) were prepared by solvent emulsification method and loaded into sodium hyaluronate (Na-Hy) gel.

Methodology: CTZ-SLN were formulated and characterized, loaded into sodium hyaluronate (Na-Hy) gel.. Later assessed for in vitro release, in vitro bioadhesion, and in vitro antifungal activity.

Results: FT-IR and DSC studies revealed no chemical changes or interaction occurred. Optimized CTZ-SLN exhibited the particle size 248 ± 1.31 nm, zeta potential 16.2 mv, entrapment efficiency was 80.7±0.7%, and drug loading 21.8±0.5%. The optimized CTZ SLN loaded Na-Hy gel demonstrated prolonged drug release (upto 24 h) than the conventional dosage form Canesten 1%, which got exhausted within 4 h. CTZ-SLN Na-Hy gel exhibited enhanced in vitro bioadhesion and in vitro antifungal action compared to conventional dosage form Canesten ointment against a) Candida albicans b) Saccharomyces cerevisiae c) Candida glabrata d) Candida tropicalis.

Conclusion: Aforementioned outcomes make the promising applicability of formulated CTZ-SLN Na-Hy gel as a potential drug delivery system for local therapy of vaginal candidiasis and other similar infections.