Preparation and Characterization of Liposomes and Ethosomes Bearing Indomethacin for Topical Drug Delivery.

Liposomes and ethosomes, the novel drug delivery system, are starting to be widely applied in topical preparation. Several studies showed that indomethacin, an anti-inflammatory drug loaded liposomes, when given transdermally reduced the side effects and enhanced its efficacy against rheumatoid arthritis and musculo-skeletal disorders. The anti-inflammatory activity is directly proportional to the amount of drug that actually crosses the skin and particle size of vesicles directly determines the dermal delivery of drug substances. Indomethacin loaded liposomes were prepared by different methods and characterized by determining their size and entrapment efficiency. To improve the therapeutic outcome and prepare a formulation which is skin-friendly, liposomes and ethosomes veried according to drug:lipid ration and method of preparation. The entrapment efficiency was higher for ethosomes than liposomes. Furthermore, the incorporation of the vesicles in carbopol gel increased viscocity and stability of the formulation. Hence, these finding suggested that indomethacin loaded ethosomes and liposomes prepared by appropriate method using optimum drug lipid ration could be a novel and potent transdermal delivery system for safe and effective topical analgesics.