title: Anti-leishmanial effect of itraconazole niosome on in vitro susceptibility of Leishmania tropica.
abstract: The novel niosomal system aimed to deliver the active drug entity to the target site. The objective of this study was to prepare and evaluate the effect of itraconazole niosome on the in vitro susceptibility of Leishmania tropica as compared to itraconazole alone or tartar emetic. The overall growth rate of promastigotes treated with various concentrations of itraconazole niosome was significantly lower than that of itraconazole alone (IC₅₀=0.24 μg/ml vs. IC₅₀=0.43 μg/ml, P<0.01). In contrast, the mean multiplication rate of amastigotes inside the macrophages and also the mean number of amastigotes in each macrophage treated with itraconazole niosome (34.9 and 3.0) were significantly lower (P<0.01) than those treated with itraconazole alone (62.0 and 3.8) or tartar emetic (63.9 and 4.2), respectively. These findings indicated that niosomes could be developed as a novel drug delivery for itraconazole in the in vitro model. Further studies are required to evaluate the effect of itraconazole niosome on volunteer human subjects.
authors: Pharmaceutical Research Center, School of Pharmacy, Kerman University of Medical Sciences, Kerman, Iran.
authors: Payam
authors: P
authors: Khazaeli
authors: Leishmaniasis Research Center, Kerman University of Medical Sciences, Kerman, Iran. Electronic address: iraj.sharifi@yahoo.com.
authors: Iraj
authors: I
authors: Sharifi
authors: Pharmaceutical Research Center, School of Pharmacy, Kerman University of Medical Sciences, Kerman, Iran.
authors: Elham
authors: E
authors: Talebian
authors: Pharmaceutical Research Center, School of Pharmacy, Kerman University of Medical Sciences, Kerman, Iran.
authors: Gioia
authors: G
authors: Heravi
authors: Pharmaceutical Research Center, School of Pharmacy, Kerman University of Medical Sciences, Kerman, Iran.
authors: Esmaeil
authors: E
authors: Moazeni
authors: Leishmaniasis Research Center, Kerman University of Medical Sciences, Kerman, Iran.
authors: Mahshid
authors: M
authors: Mostafavi
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D000981:Antiprotozoal Agents / Q000008:administration & dosage*; D002784:Cholesterol / Q000737:chemistry; D065546:Drug Liberation; D006601:Hexoses / Q000737:chemistry; D017964:Itraconazole / Q000008:administration & dosage*; D007895:Leishmania tropica / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000254:growth & development; D008081:Liposomes; D017737:Macrophages, Peritoneal / Q000187:drug effects / Q000382:microbiology; D008807:Mice, Inbred BALB C
chemical_list: D000981:Antiprotozoal Agents; D006601:Hexoses; D008081:Liposomes; D017964:Itraconazole; D002784:Cholesterol; C009298:sorbitan monostearate
keywords: Itraconazole; Leishmania tropica; MTT assay; Macrophage model; Niosome