Psoriasis

Solid lipid nanoparticles (SLNs) are very potential formulations for topical delivery of antifungal drugs. The main objective for this investigation is to develop and optimize the SLNs of Acitretin for the effective topical delivery. Acitretin loaded SLNs were prepared by hot homogenization followed by the ultra sonication using Taguchi’s design and based on the results further investigation was made using central composite design (CCD). The lipid Dynasan-116, surfactant poloxomer-188 and co surfactant egg lecithin resulted in better percent drug loading and evaluated for particle size, zeta potential, TEM, drug entrapment efficiency, in vitro drug release and stability. All parameters were found to be in an acceptable range. In vitro drug release of optimized SLN formulation (F2) was found to be 95.63±1.52%, whereas pure drug release was 30.12 after 60 min. The optimized formulation was incorporated into the gel. The drug content of Acitretin gel formulation was found to 99.86 ± 0.012% and the diameter of gel formulation was 6.9 ± 0.021 cm and that of marketed gel was found to be 5.7 ± 0.06 cm, indicating better spreadability of SLN based gel formulation. The viscosity of gel formulation at 5 rpm was found to be 6.1 x 103± 0.4 x 103 cp. The release rate (flux) of Acitretin across the membrane and excised skin differs significantly. It is assumed that SLN based gel due to its appropriate physicochemical properties, high skin permeation ability, higher accumulative uptake in skin and improved skin tolerability may be more suitable as a novel regime for topical administration of Acitretin. This topically oriented SLN based gel formulation could be useful in providing site-specific dermal treatment of psoriasis with minimal drug systemic availability and high skin tolerability.

Psoriasis is a prolonged, immune-mediated inflammatory skin disease. It is characterized by sharply demarcated, red, scaly, coin-sized skin lesions most often on the elbows, hands, knees, scalp and feet. Around 10% of individuals with psoriasis develop arthritis, which may affect the hands, feet, wrists, ankles, neck and lower back. In some cases joints become deformed, causing significant disability. The worldwide prevalence of psoriasis is around 2%, but studies in developed countries have reported higher incidence rates of on average about 4.6%.  In India the prevalence of psoriasis fluctuates from 0.44 to 2.8%, it is two times more common in males compared to females, and most of the patients are in their third or fourth decade at the time of presentation. Nearly two thirds of people with psoriasis have a mild form of the disease, Therefore in most of the cases first line treatment approach is topical. Betamethsone dipropionate (BD) loaded in omega-3- fatty acid fish oil nanoemulsion for the healthier absorption of BD in deeper layer of the skin to stop further progression of inflammatory cycle. For the preparation of nanoemulsion different types of preformulation studies require to perform because every drug has its specific intrinsic chemical and physical property which has been consider before development of pharmaceutical formulation. This property provides the framework for drug's combination with pharmaceutical ingredients in the fabrication of dosage form.

Nails are the hard and durable epidermal appendages structurally horny in nature. Nail plate is responsible for the penetration of the drug across it. There are number of formulations with antifungal agents viz. gels, creams and oral antifungals for the treatment of transungual infections. Among these entire nail lacquers is a new concept in treating nail infections. These nail lacquers are effective as monotherapy in treatment of superficial, distal and subungual diseases. The main purpose of topical nail preparations is to protect the nail plate and enhance beauty of nails. The medicated lacquer preparations are generally used in fungal diseases. Use of this system avoids oral toxicity of anti fungal drugs. The main challenge associated with developing nail lacquers for the treatment of nail disorders is to deliver the active concentration to the site of infection which is often under nail. Penetration of topical antifungal through the nail plate requires a vehicle that is specially formulated for transungual delivery. In this article we have tried to emphasize on need to develop nail lacquer for a promising antifungal treatment. This field could be explored for the treatment of Psoriasis24 and Onychomycosis.24