title: Chitosan-Based Nanomedicine to Fight Genital Candida Infections: Chitosomes.
abstract: Vaginal infections are associated with high recurrence, which is often due to a lack of efficient treatment of complex vaginal infections comprised of several types of pathogens, especially fungi and bacteria. Chitosan, a mucoadhesive polymer with known antifungal effect, could offer a great improvement in vaginal therapy; the chitosan-based nanosystem could both provide antifungal effects and simultaneously deliver antibacterial drugs. We prepared chitosan-containing liposomes, chitosomes, where chitosan is both embedded in liposomes and surface-available as a coating layer. For antimicrobial activity, we entrapped metronidazole as a model drug. To prove that mucoadhesivness alone is not sufficient for successful delivery, we used Carbopol-containing liposomes as a control. All vesicles were characterized for their size, zeta potential, entrapment efficiency, and in vitro drug release. Chitosan-containing liposomes were able to assure the prolonged release of metronidazole. Their antifungal activity was evaluated in aC. albicansmodel; chitosan-containing liposomes exhibited a potent ability to inhibit the growth ofC. albicans. The presence of chitosan was crucial for the system's antifungal activity. The antifungal efficacy of chitosomes combined with antibacterial potential of the entrapped metronidazole could offer improved efficacy in the treatment of mixed/complex vaginal infections.
authors.affiliation: Drug Transport and Delivery Research Group, Department of Pharmacy, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Tromsø The Arctic University of Norway, 9037 Tromsø, Norway. toril_andersen@hotmail.com.
authors.forename: Toril
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Andersen
authors.affiliation: Host Microbe Interactions Research Group, Department of Medical Biology, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Tromsø The Arctic University of Norway, 9037 Tromsø, Norway. ekaterina.mishchenko@uit.no.
authors.forename: Ekaterina
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Mishchenko
authors.affiliation: Drug Transport and Delivery Research Group, Department of Pharmacy, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Tromsø The Arctic University of Norway, 9037 Tromsø, Norway. goril.flaten@uit.no.
authors.forename: Gøril Eide
authors.initials: GE
authors.lastname: Flaten
authors.affiliation: Host Microbe Interactions Research Group, Department of Medical Biology, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Tromsø The Arctic University of Norway, 9037 Tromsø, Norway. johanna.e.sollid@uit.no.
authors.forename: Johanna U Ericson
authors.initials: JU
authors.lastname: Sollid
authors.affiliation: Department of Pharmacology and Clinical Neuroscience, Division of Clinical Pharmacology, Umeå University, SE-90187 Umeå, Sweden. sofia.mattsson@pharm.umu.se.
authors.forename: Sofia
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Mattsson
authors.affiliation: Personalized Dosage Form Design Research Group, School of Pharmacy, Faculty of Mathematics and Natural Sciences, University of Oslo, 0316 Oslo, Norway. ingunn.tho@farmasi.uio.no.
authors.forename: Ingunn
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Tho
authors.affiliation: Drug Transport and Delivery Research Group, Department of Pharmacy, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Tromsø The Arctic University of Norway, 9037 Tromsø, Norway. natasa.skalko-basnet@uit.no.
authors.forename: Nataša
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Škalko-Basnet
mesh_terms: D000268:Adhesiveness; D000282:Administration, Intravaginal; D000935:Antifungal Agents / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000494:pharmacology; D002176:Candida albicans / Q000187:drug effects*; D002177:Candidiasis / Q000188:drug therapy; D048271:Chitosan / Q000737:chemistry*; D004337:Drug Carriers / Q000737:chemistry; D016503:Drug Delivery Systems / Q000379:methods; D005079:Excipients / Q000737:chemistry; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008081:Liposomes / Q000737:chemistry; D050997:Nanomedicine / Q000379:methods; D010316:Particle Size; D014621:Vagina / Q000382:microbiology
chemical_list: D000935:Antifungal Agents; D004337:Drug Carriers; D005079:Excipients; D008081:Liposomes; D048271:Chitosan
keywords: Candida albicans; chitosan; drug delivery; liposomes; metronidazole; vaginal therapy