Nanostructured Lipid Carriers Enriched Hydrogels for Skin Topical Administration of Quercetin and Omega-3 Fatty Acid
Marlene Lúcio,
Nicole Giannino,
Sérgio Barreira,
José Catita,
Hugo Gonçalves,
Artur Ribeiro,
Eduarda Fernandes,
Isabel Carvalho,
Hugo Pinho,
Fátima Cerqueira,
Marco Biondi,
Carla M. Lopes
Affiliations
Marlene Lúcio
CF-UM-UP, Centro de Física das Universidades do Minho e Porto, Departamento de Física, Universidade do Minho, 4710-057 Braga, Portugal
Nicole Giannino
Instituto de Investigação, Inovação e Desenvolvimento (FP-I3ID), Biomedical and Health Sciences Research Unit (FP-BHS), Faculdade Ciências da Saúde, Universidade Fernando Pessoa, 4200-150 Porto, Portugal
Sérgio Barreira
Instituto de Investigação, Inovação e Desenvolvimento (FP-I3ID), Biomedical and Health Sciences Research Unit (FP-BHS), Faculdade Ciências da Saúde, Universidade Fernando Pessoa, 4200-150 Porto, Portugal
José Catita
Instituto de Investigação, Inovação e Desenvolvimento (FP-I3ID), Biomedical and Health Sciences Research Unit (FP-BHS), Faculdade Ciências da Saúde, Universidade Fernando Pessoa, 4200-150 Porto, Portugal
Hugo Gonçalves
Paralab, SA, 4420-392 Valbom, Portugal
Artur Ribeiro
CEB, Centro de Engenharia Biológica, Universidade do Minho, 4710-057 Braga, Portugal
Eduarda Fernandes
CF-UM-UP, Centro de Física das Universidades do Minho e Porto, Departamento de Física, Universidade do Minho, 4710-057 Braga, Portugal
Isabel Carvalho
CEB, Centro de Engenharia Biológica, Universidade do Minho, 4710-057 Braga, Portugal
Hugo Pinho
Instituto de Investigação, Inovação e Desenvolvimento (FP-I3ID), Biomedical and Health Sciences Research Unit (FP-BHS), Faculdade Ciências da Saúde, Universidade Fernando Pessoa, 4200-150 Porto, Portugal
Fátima Cerqueira
Instituto de Investigação, Inovação e Desenvolvimento (FP-I3ID), Biomedical and Health Sciences Research Unit (FP-BHS), Faculdade Ciências da Saúde, Universidade Fernando Pessoa, 4200-150 Porto, Portugal
Marco Biondi
Dipartimento di Farmacia, Università degli Studi di Napoli Federico II, Via Domenico Montesano 49, 80131 Napoli, Italy
Carla M. Lopes
Instituto de Investigação, Inovação e Desenvolvimento (FP-I3ID), Biomedical and Health Sciences Research Unit (FP-BHS), Faculdade Ciências da Saúde, Universidade Fernando Pessoa, 4200-150 Porto, Portugal
Chronic skin exposure to external hostile agents (e.g., UV radiation, microorganisms, and oxidizing chemicals) may increase oxidative stress, causing skin damage and aging. Because of their well-known skincare and protective benefits, quercetin (Q) and omega-3 fatty acids (ω3) have attracted the attention of the dermocosmetic and pharmaceutical sectors. However, both bioactives have inherent properties that limit their efficient skin delivery. Therefore, nanostructured lipid carriers (NLCs) and enriched PFC® hydrogels (HGs) have been developed as a dual-approach vehicle for Q and/or ω3 skin topical administration to improve bioactives’ stability and skin permeation. Two NLC formulations were prepared with the same lipid composition but differing in surfactant composition (NLC1—soy lecithin and poloxamer 407; NLC2—Tween® 80 and dioctyl sodium sulfosuccinate (DOSS)), which have an impact on physicochemical properties and pharmaceutical and therapeutic performance. Despite both NLCs presenting high Q loading capacity, NLC2′s physicochemical properties make them more suitable for topical skin administration and ensure longer colloidal stability. Additionally, NLC2 demonstrated a more sustained Q release, indicating higher bioactive storage while improving permeability. The occlusive effect of NLCs-enriched HGs also has a positive impact on skin permeability. Q-loaded NLC2, with or without ω3, -enriched HGs demonstrated efficacy as antioxidant and photoprotective formulations as well as effective reduction in S. aureus growth, indicating that they constitute a promising approach for topical skin administration to prevent skin aging and other damaging cutaneous processes.
