title: Needle-free jet injection of intact phospholipid vesicles across the skin: a feasibility study.
abstract: Needle-free liquid jet injectors are devices developed for the delivery of pharmaceutical solutions through the skin. In this paper, we investigated for the first time the ability of these devices to deliver intact lipid vesicles. Diclofenac sodium loaded phospholipid vesicles of two types, namely liposomes and transfersomes, were prepared and fully characterized. The lipid vesicles were delivered through a skin specimen using a jet injector and the collected samples were analyzed to assess vesicle structural integrity, drug retention and release kinetics after the injection. In this regard, data concerning size, size distribution, surface charge of vesicles and bilayer integrity and thickness, before and after the injections, were measured by dynamic light scattering experiments, cryo-electron microscopy, and X-ray scattering techniques. Finally, the effect of vesicle fast jet injection through the skin on drug release kinetics was checked by in vitro experiments. The retention of the morphological, physico-chemical, and technological features after injection, proved the integrity of vesicles after skin crossing as a high-speed liquid jet. The delivery of undamaged vesicular carriers beneath the skin is of utmost importance to create a controlled release drug depot in the hypoderm, which may be beneficial for several localized therapies. Overall results reported in this paper may broaden the range of application of liquid jet injectors to lipid vesicle based formulations thus combining beneficial performance of painless devices with those of liposomal drug delivery systems.
authors.affiliation: Department Scienze della Vita e dell'Ambiente, University of Cagliari, Via Ospedale 72, 09124, Cagliari, Italy.
authors.forename: Michele
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Schlich
authors.affiliation: Department Scienze della Vita e dell'Ambiente, University of Cagliari, Via Ospedale 72, 09124, Cagliari, Italy.
authors.forename: Francesco
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Lai
authors.affiliation: Department Scienze Chimiche e Geologiche, University of Cagliari, S.S. 554 Bivio Sestu, 09042 Monserrato, Cagliari, Italy.
authors.forename: Sergio
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Murgia
authors.affiliation: Department Scienze della Vita e dell'Ambiente, University of Cagliari, Via Ospedale 72, 09124, Cagliari, Italy.
authors.forename: Donatella
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Valenti
authors.affiliation: Department Scienze della Vita e dell'Ambiente, University of Cagliari, Via Ospedale 72, 09124, Cagliari, Italy.
authors.forename: Anna Maria
authors.initials: AM
authors.lastname: Fadda
authors.affiliation: Department Scienze della Vita e dell'Ambiente, University of Cagliari, Via Ospedale 72, 09124, Cagliari, Italy. sinico@unica.it.
authors.forename: Chiara
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Sinico
mesh_terms: D000279:Administration, Cutaneous; D004008:Diclofenac / Q000008:administration & dosage; D016503:Drug Delivery Systems; D005240:Feasibility Studies; D007277:Injections, Jet / Q000379:methods*; D008081:Liposomes / Q000737:chemistry; D009339:Needles; D010743:Phospholipids / Q000008:administration & dosage*; D012867:Skin / Q000187:drug effects*
chemical_list: D008081:Liposomes; D010743:Phospholipids; D004008:Diclofenac
keywords: Diclofenac sodium; Drug delivery; Jet injector; Liposome; Needle-free; Transfersome