Enhanced skin permeation of glabridin using eutectic mixture-based nanoemulsion

Area of Science:

• Pharmaceutical Sciences
• Materials Science
• Dermatology

Background:

• Glabridin, a water-insoluble compound, faces challenges in transdermal delivery.
• Nanoemulsions offer potential for improved drug solubilization and skin penetration.
• Eutectic mixtures can enhance the solubility and delivery of poorly soluble drugs.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate a menthol-camphor eutectic mixture within a nanoemulsion for enhanced transdermal delivery of glabridin.
• To compare the performance of this nanoemulsion with conventional formulations.
• To optimize and characterize the nanoemulsion for stability and skin permeation.

Main Methods:

• Solubility of glabridin was determined using the shaking bottle method.
• Pseudoternary phase diagrams were constructed to identify nanoemulsion regions.
• Nanoemulsions were formulated, characterized for particle size, and tested for in vitro/in vivo skin permeation.
• Storage stability was assessed over three months.

Main Results:

• Optimized nanoemulsion contained 0.25% glabridin, 5% oil phase, 10% Tween 80, 5% glycerol, and 79.75% water.
• Nanoemulsions achieved a mean droplet size of approximately 100 nm.
• The eutectic mixture nanoemulsion showed significantly higher in vitro skin permeability (28.26 μg/cm²) compared to IPM (9.94 μg/cm²) and drug solution (3.82 μg/cm²).
• In vivo studies confirmed enhanced transdermal delivery.

Conclusions:

• The menthol-camphor eutectic mixture is an effective solubilizer for glabridin.
• Nanoemulsions utilizing this eutectic mixture serve as superior nanocarriers for glabridin transdermal delivery.
• This approach holds promise for improving the efficacy of poorly soluble drugs via the transdermal route.