Transfersomes: A Promising Nanoencapsulation Technique for Transdermal Drug Delivery

Abstract

Transdermal delivery systems have gained much interest in recent years owing to their advantages compared to conventional oral and parenteral delivery systems. They are noninvasive and self-administered delivery systems that can improve patient compliance and provide a controlled release of the therapeutic agents. The greatest challenge of transdermal delivery systems is the barrier function of the skin’s outermost layer. Molecules with molecular weights greater than 500 Da and ionized compounds generally do not pass through the skin. Therefore, only a limited number of drugs are capable of being administered by this route. Encapsulating the drugs in transfersomes are one of the potential approaches to overcome this problem. They have a bilayered structure that facilitates the encapsulation of lipophilic and hydrophilic, as well as amphiphilic, drug with higher permeation efficiencies compared to conventional liposomes. Transfersomes are elastic in nature, which can deform and squeeze themselves as an intact vesicle through narrow pores that are significantly smaller than its size. This review aims to describe the concept of transfersomes, the mechanism of action, different methods of preparation and characterization and factors affecting the properties of transfersomes, along with their recent applications in the transdermal administration of drugs.

Cyanocobalamin Ultraflexible Lipid Vesicles: Characterization and In Vitro Evaluation of Drug-Skin Depth Profiles

“…It is well known that by increasing the proportion of cholesterol located in the lipid bilayers, the particle size [ 68 , 69 ] and the vesicle rigidity also increase [ 69 , 70 ]. Considering that one of the main reasons why lipid vesicles improve drug absorption through the skin is their ability to deform and penetrate between the cells of the stratum corneum, we sought to produce flexible vesicles of the smallest possible size [ 71 , 72 ]. For this, a low ratio of cholesterol to phospholipid (molar ratio 1:17) was chosen for conventional liposomes, since it provides small and ultraflexible vesicles with enough stability.…”

Characterisation of Drug Delivery Efficacy Using Microstructure-Assisted Application of a Range of APIs

“…Vybrant™ Dil solution was encapsulated within phospholipid-based vesicles, using a modified version of the “thin film hydration sonication” technique, described by Opatha et al [ 56 ]. Encapsulation of DiI (5 μL of 1 mM), using l -α-Phosphatydilcholine and Tween-80 surfactant (1% w / w ) dissolved in chloroform/methanol (2:1) solvent mixture, was performed in order to resolve the solubility issue of the water insoluble DiI dye, to facilitate skin permeation using MSt and improve confocal imaging.…”

Oral Gel Loaded by Fluconazole‒Sesame Oil Nanotransfersomes: Development, Optimization, and Assessment of Antifungal Activity

“…The EE% of the developed and optimized FS-NTF was determined using the indirect method [ 18 ], where the EE% was stated as the percentage of the total amount of drugs incorporated within the final formulation. To perform this experiment, the FS-NTF was freeze dried (Martin Christ Gefriertrocknungsanlagen GmbH, Osterode am Harz, Germany) first to remove the traces of the aqueous phase in the formulation.…”