International Journal of Nanomedicine (Feb 2021)

Physicochemical Characterization of Finasteride Nanosystem for Enhanced Topical Delivery

  • Irfan MM,
  • Shah SU,
  • Khan IU,
  • Munir MU,
  • Khan NR,
  • Shah KU,
  • Rehman SU,
  • Sohaib M,
  • Basit HM,
  • Mahmood S

Journal volume & issue
Vol. Volume 16
pp. 1207 – 1220

Abstract

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Malik Muhammad Irfan,1,2 Shefaat Ullah Shah,1,2 Ikram Ullah Khan,3 Muhammad Usman Munir,4 Nauman Rahim Khan,1,2 Kifayat Ullah Shah,1 Saif Ur Rehman,5 Muhammad Sohaib,1,2 Hafiz Muhammad Basit,1,2 Saima Mahmood1,2 1Department of Pharmaceutics, Faculty of Pharmacy, Gomal University, D.I. Khan, 29050, KPK, Pakistan; 2Gomal Centre for Skin/Regenerative Medicine and Drug Delivery Research (GCSRDDR), Faculty of Pharmacy, Gomal University, D.I. Khan, 29050, KPK, Pakistan; 3Department of Pharmaceutics, Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Government College University, Faisalabad, Pakistan; 4Department of Pharmaceutical Chemistry, College of Pharmacy, Jouf University Sakaka, Aljouf, 72388, Saudi Arabia; 5Department of Pharmacy, Faculty of Medical and Health Sciences, University of Poonch, Rawlakot, AJK, PakistanCorrespondence: Shefaat Ullah ShahDepartment of Pharmaceutics, Faculty of Pharmacy, Gomal University, D.I. Khan, PakistanTel +92-336-514 0 682Email [email protected]: The current work aimed to formulate a novel chitosan-based finasteride nanosystem (FNS-NS) for skin delivery to optimize the drug availability in skin for a longer time and enhance ex vivo performance of finasteride against androgenic alopecia.Methods: Both undecorated and chitosan decorated FNS-NSs were synthesized by a high energy emulsification technique. All the prepared nanosystems were further subjected to physicochemical characterizations like pH, viscosity, encapsulation efficiency, surface morphology and in vitro drug release behavior. The influence of the nanosystem on the drug permeation and retention in rat skin was examined using Franz diffusion cell apparatus.Results: The droplet size of developed nanosystems ranged from 41 to 864 nm with a low polydispersity index. The zeta potential of the nanosystems was between -10 mV and +56 mV. This chitosan decorated nanosystem exhibited controlled drug release, ie about 78– 97% in 24 h. Among all the nanosystems, our chitosan decorated formulation (F5) had low drug permeation (16.35 μg/cm2) and higher drug retention (10.81 μg/cm2).Conclusion: The abovementioned results demonstrate satisfactory in vitro drug release, skin retention profiles and ex vivo performance with chitosan decorated FNS-NS (F5). This optimized formulation could increase drug availability in skin and could become a promising carrier for topical delivery to treat androgenic alopecia.Keywords: finasteride, nanosystem, solubility, chitosan, permeation, retention, androgenic alopecia

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