Nanostructured lipid carrier system for topical delivery of terbinafine hydrochloride

The main aim of the present study was to develop and evaluate Terbinafine HCl (TH)-loaded nanostructured lipid carrier (NLC) for the treatment of fungal infection via topical administration. Fungal infections are tremendously widespread and the treatments are effective but associated toxicities restrict their use. TH-NLC was prepared using high pressure homogenization technique using Glyceryl Monostearate (GMS) as solid lipid, Labrasol as liquid lipid and Pluronic F-127 as surfactant, binary lipid phase was selected in the ratio 6:4 w/w (solid:liquid lipid ratio). The mean diameter of optimized TH-NLCs was found to be 128 ± 4.5 nm. Spherical shape and size were confirmed using scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM) analyses. The in vitro release studies showed 92.60 ± 0.87% drug release over 24 h as compared to the marketed formulation which showed only 82.826 ± 0.29%. Ex vivo skin permeation study showed about 86.35% permeation however from the marketed formulation it showed 69.41%. The pharmacodynamic studies indicated that TH-NLC (771 ± 41.797 CFUs) gel efficiently reduced the fungal burden in shorter duration of time as compared to marketed formulation (1558 ± 140.524 CFUs) and dispersion (95,582 ± 2316.619 CFUs) (p value > 0.001). Therefore, it can be concluded that the developed NLCs showed a sustained release pattern and reduction of fungal burden in the infected area. Hence, TH-NLC could be a potential alternative for treatment of topical fungal infection after clinical evaluation in near future