Permeability-Enhanced Liposomal Emulgel Formulation of 5-Fluorouracil for the Treatment of Skin Cancer

Abstract

The plain 5-fluorouracil (5FU) formulations available in the market are associated with adverse effects such as skin irritation, pruritus, redness, blisters, allergy, and dryness on the site of application. The objective of the present study was to develop a liposomal emulgel of 5FU with increased skin permeability and efficacy using clove oil and eucalyptus oil along with pharmaceutically acceptable carriers, excipients, stabilizers, binders, and additives. A series of seven formulations were developed and evaluated for their entrapment efficiency, in vitro release profile, and cumulative drug release profile. The compatibility of drugs and excipients, as confirmed by FTIR (fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy) and DSC (differential scanning calorimetry) as well as SEM (scanning electron microscopy) and TEM (transmission electron microscopy) studies, revealed that the size and shape of liposomes are smooth and spherical, and the liposomes are non-aggregated. To understand their efficacy, the optimized formulations were evaluated for cytotoxicity using B16-F10 mouse skin melanoma cells. The eucalyptus oil and clove oil-containing preparation significantly produced a cytotoxic effect against a melanoma cell line. The addition of clove oil and eucalyptus oil increased the efficacy of the formulation by improving skin permeability and reducing the dose required for the anti-skin cancer activity.

Nanotechnology as a Promising Method in the Treatment of Skin Cancer

“…Lipid-based nanoparticles are considered to be one of the most suitable carrier systems for therapeutic compounds due to their unique lipid composition [76]. Lipid nanoparticles are a diverse group, including liposomes [77], ethosomes [78], niosomes [79], and solid lipid nanoparticles [80], each with its unique properties and applications. Despite this, extensive research has been conducted on these compounds to evaluate their effectiveness in delivering anticancer therapies for various cancers, including skin cancer, while minimizing side effects.…”

Fabrication of Crescent Shaped Microparticles for Particle Templated Droplet Formation

“…Each emulsion acts as an isolated reaction chamber for analyzing single cells or molecules without crosstalk. [15] The microfluidic droplet generators offer numerous advantages, such as low sample consumption and high throughput, which make it a powerful platform for various applications, including single-cell analysis, [16,17] nucleic acid detection, [18,19] enzyme evolution, [20,21] single-sperm dynamics, [22,23] high-throughput screening, [24] tissue engineering, [25,26] and drug discovery. [27,28] However, these isolated compartments or water-in-oil emulsions have limited utility in assays requiring reagent exchange and washing steps.…”

Formulation & Evaluation of Oral Disintegration Strip (ODS) containing Levetiracetam

“…Consequently, these regions lack the keratinized layer and are relatively impermeable to water. The absence of keratin in these areas affects their permeability characteristics, distinguishing them from the keratinized mucosa found in the gingiva and hard palate (Pachauri et al, 2023). Indeed, the layers of the sublingual and buccal regions are characterized by the presence of bipolar lipids, specifically neutral lipids such as cholesterol sulfate and glucosyl ceramides.…”