A novel drug delivery system using acyclovir nanofiber patch for topical treatment of recurrent herpes labialis: A randomized clinical trial

Abstract

Objectives: Topical treatment with acyclovir cream has shown low efficacy in recent studies. Nano drug delivery systems, have received much attention in recent decades.The aim of this study was to compare the efficacy of acyclovir nanofiber patch with acyclovir cream.Material and Methods: In this double-blind three-armed randomized clinical trial, a total of 60 patients with recurrent labial herpes, were randomly divided into three groups, each consisting of 20. The patients in the first, second, and third groups were treated with acyclovir nanofiber patch, placebo nanofiber patch, and acyclovir cream, respectively. A numerical scale was used by the patients to record the self-reported symptoms. Symptoms score, crusting time and healing time were assessed by the clinician. Kruskal-Wallis test was used to compare the symptoms between the three groups, a survival test was also performed to evaluate the crusting and healing time.Data were analyzed in SPSS V22 at P-value < 0.05. Results:The mean scores of symptoms at baseline were 1.6, 1.5, and 1.4 in the first, second, and third groups, respectively. The symptoms were not significantly different between the three groups on different treatment days. The mean crusting time was 2.3, 2.4, and 2.6 days in the three groups, and the mean healing time was 7.4, 7.2, and 7.7 days, respectively. Crusting time and healing time were not significantly different between the three groups.Conclusions: Acyclovir nanofiber patches are recommended for accelerating symptom relief in recurrent labial herpes, however, they are not effective in shortening the crusting or healing time.

Innovative Drug Delivery Systems for Infectious Diseases of the Skin

“…Only small (molecular weight <500 Daltons), soluble (usually low melting point) and moderately lipophilic (log P value between 0-5) compounds with few hydrogen bonds easily pass SC unless some form of skin penetration enhancement technology is used. A larger and more lipophilic drug has more difficulty in passing into the more hydrated living epidermis due to its poor water solubility 27, 28 . Due to the disadvantages of conventional formulations, exploration of potential applications of new carriers such as vesicles, lipidic particles and nano-sized carriers has become an integral part of the development of topical skin disease therapy 8 .…”

Mechanistic of Vesicular Ethosomes and Elastic Liposomes on Permeation Profiles of Acyclovir across Artificial Membrane, Human Cultured EpiDerm, and Rat Skin: In Vitro-Ex Vivo Study

“…However, the prepared product had relatively low potential performance compared to commercial Zovirax cream (5% w / w ) [ 9 ]. Therefore, a double blind randomized clinical trial was conducted to compare the therapeutic efficacy of ACV cream and ACV-loaded nanofiber patch to treat recurrent labia herpes (60 patients in three groups) [ 10 ]. The product was not substantially effective to shorten crusting time and healing time among all groups tested.…”

Nanofiber Carriers of Therapeutic Load: Current Trends

“…Currently, nanofiber-based products used in medicine field involve filtering devices, surgical implants and wound dressings and patches developed for drug delivery [ 5 ]. Recent randomized clinical trial (60 patients) concerning the use of acyclovir NF patch for topical treatment of recurrent herpes labialis concluded that although NF patch accelerates symptom relief it is ineffective in shortening healing time [ 8 ].…”