Appraisal of anti-gout potential of colchicine-loaded chitosan nanoparticle gel in uric acid-induced gout animal model

Abstract

Present study is aimed at transdermal delivery of colchicine-loaded chitosan nanoparticles. The nanoformulations were prepared utilising spontaneous emulsification method and optimised through 2³ factorial designs. The optimised formulation (CHNP-OPT) displayed an average particle size of 294 ± 3.75 nm, entrapment efficiency 92.89 ± 1.1% and drug content 83.45 ± 2.5%, respectively. In vitro release study demonstrated 89.34 ± 2.90% release over a period of 24 h. Further, CHNP-OPT incorporated into HPMC-E4M (hydroxypropyl methylcellulose) to form transdermal gel. CHNP_gel displayed 74.65 ± 1.90% permeation and stability over a period of 90 days. The anti-gout potential of CHNP_gel formulation was evaluated in vivo against monosodium urate (MSU) crystal-induced gout in animal model. There was significant reduction in uric acid level, during MSU administration, when compared with the conventional gel of colchicine. The enhanced therapeutic potential was witnessed through X-ray. The study revealed that colchicine-loaded CHNP_gel proved their supremacy over plain colchicine and can be an efficient delivery system for gout treatment.

Keywords:

• Emulsification method
• factorial design
• monosodium urate crystals
• transdermal gel
• chitosan nanoparticles

Compliance with ethical standards

The animal experiments were performed with the approval of Institutional Animal Ethical Committee (registration number SDCOP&VS/AH/CPCSEA/01/0019).

Acknowledgement

The authors thank Department of radiology, veterinary hospital, Lucknow, India for providing X-ray facilities.

Disclosure statement

The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.