Argan oil nanoemulsions as new hydrophobic drug-loaded delivery system for transdermal application

This research work deals with the development of argan oil-based nanoemulsions as vehicle of hydrophobic drugs such as diclofenac used as model. Nanoemulsions of oil in water were prepared using the ultrasonication method in order to obtain submicron size colloidal dispersion. The size, zeta potential and encapsulation efficiency of the dispersions obtained were investigated. In addition, the ability of sorbitan ester derivatives to form nanovesicles (niosomes), which in turn were used for encapsulating drug in oily solutions forming stable nanoemulsions, was particularly examined. Thus, additional stabilizing agents were not required in the recipe and formulations using only sorbitan monolaurate, argan oil and water lead to attractive results. Their submicronic size (<250 nm), high negative zeta potential (between -40 and -50 mV) and drug-encapsulation efficiency (higher than 85%) allow predicting both a good physical stability and a good performance as drug carriers.