International Journal of Nanomedicine (Mar 2022)
Evaluation of Metformin Hydrochloride Tailoring Bilosomes as an Effective Transdermal Nanocarrier
Abstract
Heba F Salem,1 Mohammed M Nafady,2 Adel A Ali,1 Nermeen M Khalil,2 Amani A Elsisi1 1Department of Pharmaceutics & Industrial Pharmacy, Faculty of Pharmacy, Beni-Suef University, Beni-Suef, Egypt; 2Department of Pharmaceutics, Faculty of Pharmacy, Nahda University, Beni-Suef, EgyptCorrespondence: Mohammed M Nafady, Department of Pharmaceutics, Faculty of Pharmacy Nahda University, Beni-Suef, 62511, Egypt, Tel +01100719792, Email [email protected]; [email protected]: Metformin hydrochloride (metformin HCL), a first-line drug treating diabetes type II, was known to cause severe gastritis, so seeking a non-oral dosage form was the new trend. Bilosomes are bilayer nano-vesicles of non-ionic surfactants embodying bile salts. In our study, bilosomes were investigated as an acceptable novel carrier for active targeting transdermal delivery of metformin HCL, circumventing its side effects.Methods: Twelve bilosome formulations were prepared with solvent evaporation method with slight modification according to a 31 .22 full factorial design, and the optimized formulation was determined using Design -Expert 13 software (Stat-Ease, Inc., Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA) studying the effect of surfactant and bile salt types on the entrapment efficiency (EE), vesicle size (VS), polydispersity index (PDI), zeta potential (ZP), percentage of drug released within 24 h (R), and flux of drug permeated within 6 h (Jss) of vesicles. In addition, the optimized formulation was further evaluated to Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), deformability index (DI), and transmission electron microscope (TEM) to ensure bilosomes formation, elasticity, and spherical shape, respectively.Results: The resulting vesicles publicized EE from 56.21% to 94.21%, VS from 183.64 to 701.8 nm, PDI values oscillating between 0.33 and 0.53, ZP (absolute value) from 29 to 44.2 mV, biphasic release profile within 24 h from 60.62 and up to 75.28%, and permeation flux enhancement (198.79– 431.91 ng cm − 2 h− 1) in comparison with the non-formulated drug (154.26 ng cm − 2 h− 1). Optimized formulation was found to be F8 with EE = 79.49%, VS = 237.68 nm, ZP = 40.9 mV, PDI = 0.325, R = 75.28%, Jss = 333.45 ng cm− 2 h− 1 and DI = 6.5 with spherical self-closed non-aggregated vesicles and non-superimposed bands of its components in the FTIR.Conclusion: Overall results showed that bilosome incorporation of metformin HCL improved permeation and offered a new nano-carrier for active transdermal delivery.Graphical Abstract: Keywords: metformin HCL, bile salts, bilosome, Design-Expert 13, permeation study, edge activators
