Abstract
Aim: To study whether the formulation of an antifungal drug in nanovesicular form containing skin penetration enhancer would clinically modulate its therapeutic effectiveness. Materials & methods: Nanovesicles containing different skin penetration enhancers ‘PEVs’ were prepared and loaded with sertaconazole. Penetration-enhancer vesicles were characterized for entrapment efficiency, particle size, zeta potential, elasticity, viscosity, morphology and ex vivo skin deposition. Selected formulae were preliminary tested for clinical efficacy on patients suffering from tinea corporis and tinea versicolor. Results & conclusion: The nanosize of the vesicles, their content of penetration enhancer and their deformable nature are three cornerstones positively influencing the therapeutic outcome of topical antifungal therapy, and hence, can be considered a promising treatment modality for skin fungal diseases.
Financial & competing interests disclosure
The authors have no relevant affiliations or financial involvement with any organization or entity with a financial interest in or financial conflict with the subject matter or materials discussed in the manuscript. This includes employment, consultancies, honoraria, stock ownership or options, expert testimony, grants or patents received or pending, or royalties.
No writing assistance was utilized in the production of this manuscript.
Ethical conduct of research
The authors state that they have obtained appropriate institutional review board approval (REC-ASU#26) and have followed the principles outlined in the Declaration of Helsinki for all human or animal experimental investigations. In addition, for investigations involving human subjects, informed consent has been obtained from the participants involved.