title: Hydrogel-thickened nanoemulsions based on essential oils for topical delivery of psoralen: Permeation and stability studies.
abstract: Nanoemulsions (NE) have attracted much attention due to their as dermal delivery systems for lipophilic drugs such as psoralens. However, NE feature low viscosity which might be unsuitable for topical application. In this work, we produced hydrogel-thickened nanoemulsions (HTN) using chitosan as thickening polymer to overcome the low viscosity attributed to NE. The aim of this study is to develop and characterize oil-in-water (o/w) HTN based on sweet fennel and clove essential oil to transdermal delivery of 8-methoxsalen (8-MOP). NE components (oil, surfactant) were selected on the basis of solubility and droplet size and processed in a high-pressure homogenizer (HPH). Drug loaded NE and HTN were characterized for particle size, stability under storage and centrifugation, rheological behavior, transdermal permeation and skin accumulation. Transdermal permeation of 8-MOP from HTN was determined by using Franz diffusion cell. Transdermal permeation from HTN using clove essential oil showed strong dependency chitosan molecular weight. On the other hand, HTN using sweet fennel oil showed an unexpected pH-dependent behavior not fully understood at the moment. These results need further investigation, nevertheless HTN revealed to be interesting and complex dermal delivery systems for poorly soluble drugs.
authors.affiliation: Instituto de Macromoléculas Professora Eloisa Mano, Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro (IMA/UFRJ), Centro de Tecnologia, Bl. J, Avenida Horácio Macedo, 2030, Cidade Universitária, Ilha do Fundão, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Electronic address: thaisbarradas@ima.ufrj.br.
authors.forename: Thaís Nogueira
authors.initials: TN
authors.lastname: Barradas
authors.affiliation: Instituto de Macromoléculas Professora Eloisa Mano, Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro (IMA/UFRJ), Centro de Tecnologia, Bl. J, Avenida Horácio Macedo, 2030, Cidade Universitária, Ilha do Fundão, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
authors.forename: Juliana Perdiz
authors.initials: JP
authors.lastname: Senna
authors.affiliation: Instituto de Macromoléculas Professora Eloisa Mano, Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro (IMA/UFRJ), Centro de Tecnologia, Bl. J, Avenida Horácio Macedo, 2030, Cidade Universitária, Ilha do Fundão, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
authors.forename: Stephani Araujo
authors.initials: SA
authors.lastname: Cardoso
authors.affiliation: Dipartimento Farmaceutico, Università degli Studi di Parma, Parco Area delle Scienze 27/A, 43100 Parma, Italy.
authors.forename: Sara
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Nicoli
authors.affiliation: Dipartimento Farmaceutico, Università degli Studi di Parma, Parco Area delle Scienze 27/A, 43100 Parma, Italy.
authors.forename: Cristina
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Padula
authors.affiliation: Dipartimento Farmaceutico, Università degli Studi di Parma, Parco Area delle Scienze 27/A, 43100 Parma, Italy.
authors.forename: Patrizia
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Santi
authors.affiliation: Instituto IMEM-CNR, Parco Area delle Scienze 37/a, 43100 Parma, Italy.
authors.forename: Francesca
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Rossi
authors.affiliation: Departamento de Fármacos e Medicamentos, Faculdade de Farmácia, Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro (UFRJ), Avenida Carlos Chagas Filho, 373, Cidade Universitária, Ilha do Fundão, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
authors.forename: K Gyselle
authors.initials: KG
authors.lastname: de Holanda E Silva
authors.affiliation: Instituto de Macromoléculas Professora Eloisa Mano, Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro (IMA/UFRJ), Centro de Tecnologia, Bl. J, Avenida Horácio Macedo, 2030, Cidade Universitária, Ilha do Fundão, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
authors.forename: Claudia R Elias
authors.initials: CRE
authors.lastname: Mansur
mesh_terms: D000279:Administration, Cutaneous; D000818:Animals; D016503:Drug Delivery Systems / Q000379:methods; D004423:Ear; D004655:Emulsions / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000737:chemistry*; D005363:Ficusin / Q000008:administration & dosage* / Q000737:chemistry*; D020136:Hydrogel, Polyethylene Glycol Dimethacrylate / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000737:chemistry*; D053758:Nanoparticles / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000737:chemistry*; D009822:Oils, Volatile / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000737:chemistry*; D010316:Particle Size; D010539:Permeability / Q000187:drug effects; D012867:Skin / Q000378:metabolism; D012869:Skin Absorption / Q000187:drug effects; D012995:Solubility; D013501:Surface-Active Agents / Q000737:chemistry; D013552:Swine; D014783:Viscosity / Q000187:drug effects
chemical_list: D004655:Emulsions; D009822:Oils, Volatile; D013501:Surface-Active Agents; D020136:Hydrogel, Polyethylene Glycol Dimethacrylate; D005363:Ficusin
keywords: 8-MOP; Chitosan; Clove essential oil; Essential oils; Eugenol; Hydrogel-thickened nanoemulsions; Permeation studies; Psoralens; Sweet fennel essential oil; Terpenes; Trans-anethole; Transdermal delivery