Coconut Oil and Shea Butter as Lipids for the Formulation of Ciprofloxacin-Loaded Nanoparticles

Purpose

In this study, coconut oil (liquid lipid) and shea butter (solid lipid) were used to formulate ciprofloxacin-loaded nanoparticles (nanostructured lipid carriers, NLC, solid lipid nanoparticles, SLN, or nanoemulsions, NE) which were then evaluated for pharmaceutical and antibacterial properties.

Methods

The nanoparticles were produced by hot homogenisation high-pressure technique with a combination of the solid and liquid lipids for the NLC, solid lipid alone for the SLN, and liquid lipid alone for the NE. The nanoparticles were characterised by size, polydispersity index (PDI), zeta potential, FTIR, drug entrapment efficiency, drug dissolution (in vitro) and release kinetics, antibacterial action, and stability.

Results

The nanoparticle sizes ranged from 157.0 ± 83.8 to 205.4 ± 95.6 nm, with PDI of 0.229–0.255, and zeta potential of -25.2 ± 5.6 to -45.3 ± 6.1mV. FTIR revealed no interaction between the drug and lipids. Drug entrapment was > 95.0%; only NLC had a t₈₀ of < 45 min. Drug release kinetics followed the Korsmeyer-Peppas model showing a Super case II transport mechanism. The ranking of the antibacterial activity was SLN > NLC > NE against both Staphylococcus aureus and Salmonella typhi. Stability studies indicated that phase separation occurred, drug content was reduced (p > 0.05), while release kinetics and mechanism remained largely unchanged.

Conclusion

Coconut oil and shea butter lipids were effective for the formulation of ciprofloxacin-loaded nanoparticles, with the solid lipid nanoparticles and nanostructured lipid carriers demonstrating suitable pharmaceutical properties and antibacterial activity.