Abstract
Fluconazole was successfully incorporated into multilamellar (MLV) and large unilamellar liposomes (LUV). Both MLV and LUV were stable up to 72 h in saline but were less stable in the high-resolution medium. The MLV-entrapped fluconazole was found to be four-fold more active than LUV-entrapped fluconazole against Candida pseudotropicalis and over six-fold more active against C. albicans. The MLV-fluconazole was one-fold less active than free fluconazole in terms of its endpoints (MIC value). However, when compared with free fluconazole, MLV-fluconazole was one-fold more active against two strains of C. albicans and equally active against C. kefyr and C. parapsilosis. In an incubation time-dependent assay against C. tropicalis, MLV-Fluconazole was one-fold more active after 16 h incubation and two-fold less active than fluconazole after 24 or 36 h post-incubation. Our results demonstrate the usefulness of liposomal formulation of the water-soluble azole, fluconazole, in the limited in vitro assay method used.