Vesicular Nanocarriers: A Potential Platform for Topical/Transdermal Delivery of Antibiotics.

Background: Bacterial infections are becoming difficult to treat nowadays due to the development of resistance towards conventional treatments. Conventional topical formulations loaded with antibiotics display various disadvantages, like high dosing frequency, high toxicity, and poor patient compliance. The former limitations may sometimes lead to severe complications and hospitalization of patients. However, these can be overcome by employing vesicular nanocarriers for the delivery of antibiotics following the topical/transdermal route.

Objective: The objective of this review paper was to summarize the role of vesicular nanocarriers, like liposomes, elastic liposomes, niosomes, ethosomes, solid lipid nanoparticles, nanostructured lipid carriers, and nanoemulsions for topical/transdermal delivery of antibiotics, and patents associated with them.

Methods: Literature for the present review was collected using various search engines, like PubMed, Google Scholar, and Google Patents.

Results: Various literature investigations have revealed the in vitro and preclinical efficacy of vesicular nanocarrier systems in the delivery of antibiotics following the topical/transdermal route.

Conclusion: Vesicular nanocarrier systems, via targeted delivery, may subside various side effects of antibiotics associated with conventional delivery, like high dosing frequency and poor patient compliance. However, their existence in the pharmaceutical market will be governed by effective clinical assessment and scale-up methodologies.