Econazole imprinted textiles with antifungal activity

Area of Science:

• Pharmaceutical Sciences
• Materials Science
• Dermatology

Background:

• Superficial fungal infections require effective and compliant treatment methods.
• Traditional topical antifungal treatments can suffer from poor patient adherence.
• Developing novel drug delivery systems is crucial for improving therapeutic outcomes.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop and characterize pharmaceutical textiles imprinted with Econazole nitrate (ECN) lipid microparticles.
• To evaluate the stability, drug release profile, and antifungal efficacy of ECN-imprinted textiles.
• To compare the therapeutic potential of ECN textiles with conventional antifungal creams.

Main Methods:

• Lipid microparticles of Econazole nitrate (ECN) were prepared and characterized.
• An optimized screen-printing method was used to deposit microparticles onto textiles.
• Scanning electron microscopy, laser diffraction, and drug content analysis were performed.
• In vitro antifungal activity, in vivo efficacy in a mouse model, and ex vivo percutaneous absorption studies were conducted.

Main Results:

• ECN-imprinted textiles demonstrated stable drug content (97±3 μg/cm²) for up to 4 months.
• Thermosensitive textiles exhibited enhanced drug release at skin temperature (32 °C).
• ECN textiles maintained potent in vitro and in vivo antifungal activity against relevant fungal species.
• Ex vivo studies showed increased drug concentration in the upper skin layers compared to conventional cream.

Conclusions:

• Pharmaceutical textiles imprinted with ECN are a stable and effective drug delivery system.
• This technology offers improved drug release kinetics and targeted delivery to superficial skin layers.
• ECN-imprinted textiles represent a promising advancement for treating superficial fungal infections with enhanced patient compliance.