Meraj Alam, Md. Rizwanullah, Shahnawaz Ahmad, Ashif Iqubal, Showkat R. Mir, Tae-Geum Kim, Saima Amin
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引用次数: 0
Abstract
Psoriasis is a chronic inflammatory skin disorder affecting 2–5% of the global population and is often characterized by skin thickening, scaling, and various epidermal changes. Current topical treatments have limitations in terms of efficacy, skin penetration, and side effects. The present study aimed to develop a novel nanostructured lipid carrier (NLC) gel that co-encapsulates tacrolimus (TAC) and thymoquinone (THQ) to enhance drug delivery and efficacy in the treatment of psoriasis. TAC-THQ-NLC was formulated using the emulsification solvent-evaporation technique and subsequently converted into nanogel using Carbopol Ultrez10 as a gelling agent. The prepared nanogel efficacy was evaluated through ex-vivo skin permeation, dermatokinetic analysis, and psoriasis-induced Balb/c mice model. The TAC-THQ-NLC-gel (TAC-THQ-NG) demonstrated significantly higher skin permeation compared to the TAC-THQ-suspension-gel (TAC-THQ-SG). Specifically, the permeation enhancement for the NLC-gel was 2.51-fold and 2.12-fold for TAC and THQ, respectively. These enhancements were confirmed using Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FTIR) and Differential Scanning Calorimetry (DSC). The dermatokinetic analysis showed that the TAC-THQ-NG had 2.78-fold and 2.37-fold higher maximum concentration (Cmax) and 2.93-fold and 2.40-fold higher area under the curve (AUC) for TAC and THQ, respectively, compared to the TAC-THQ-SG. Further, in the Balb/c mice psoriasis model, the TAC-THQ-NG formulation resulted in an 83.80 ± 3.62% reduction in the cumulative Psoriasis Area Severity Index (PASI) score of thickness, erythema, and scaling, compared to the TAC-THQ-SG formulation, which showed 57 ± 9.90% reduction. The results of the in vivo skin compliance study suggested that the developed TAC-THQ-NG was safe for topical application. Further histopathological examination showed no significant changes in the skin, spleen, and liver, indicating the efficacy and safety of the TAC-THQ-NG formulation. Based on these observations, it can be inferred that the developed TAC-THQ-NG exhibits superior therapeutic efficacy.
期刊介绍：
AAPS PharmSciTech is a peer-reviewed, online-only journal committed to serving those pharmaceutical scientists and engineers interested in the research, development, and evaluation of pharmaceutical dosage forms and delivery systems, including drugs derived from biotechnology and the manufacturing science pertaining to the commercialization of such dosage forms. Because of its electronic nature, AAPS PharmSciTech aspires to utilize evolving electronic technology to enable faster and diverse mechanisms of information delivery to its readership. Submission of uninvited expert reviews and research articles are welcomed.
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