Green Nanoparticles for Topical Administration of Drugs

A special issue of Nanomaterials (ISSN 2079-4991). This special issue belongs to the section "Biology and Medicines".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 13 June 2025 | Viewed by 1973

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Dipartimento di Scienze della Vita e dell'Ambiente, Università Politecnica delle Marche, Ancona, Italy
Interests: protein; Small Angle X-ray and Neutron Scattering (SAXS +SANS); folding; amyloid; Intrinsic Disordered Proteins (IDP); scattering
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Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

The topical administration of drugs represents a route to treat pathologies affecting the skin (e.g. inflammations, infections, melanoma, and psoriasis) or mucosae (e.g. viral infections, and candidiasis). Conventional semi-solid forms, such as creams and gels, allow achieving only local effects since the stratum corneum barrier properties hamper the absorption of many drugs. Conversely, nanoparticle-based topical formulations can provide sustained drug release, promoting drug permeation into deeper layers of the skin or through the mucosae. Indeed, nanoparticles offer broad potential as drug delivery systems, being able to solubilize both hydrophobic and hydrophilic drugs in a physiological environment suitable to prevent compound degradation and to control their release. Nanoparticulate drug delivery systems include vesicular nanocarriers (e.g. liposomes and ethosomes), as well as solid nanoparticles, dendrimers, and quantum dots. Recently, research efforts have been devoted to the development of green approaches to produce nanoparticles by sustainable methods, avoiding the use of toxic materials and organic solvents, and preventing expensive processes, as well as waste product formation. In particular, the use of plant extract is greatly increasing in the nanotechnology field. The physical–chemical characterization of nanoparticles—particularly their size distribution and external and internal architecture—is needed to understand the effect of size and morphology on nanoparticle uptake through the skin and mucosae.

This Special Issue is open for submissions of the most recent findings on nanoparticulate drug delivery systems, based on sustainable approaches and natural matrixes, for dermatological and mucosal applications.

Dr. Elisabetta Esposito
Dr. Manuela Malatesta
Dr. Maria Grazia Ortore
Guest Editors

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Keywords

  • green nanoparticles
  • liposomes
  • ethosomes
  • skin
  • mucosae
  • transdermal delivery
  • sustainability
  • natural polymers
  • lipids
  • phospholipids

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Published Papers (1 paper)

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Research

15 pages, 3359 KiB  
Article
Improvement in Curcumin’s Stability and Release by Formulation in Flexible Nano-Liposomes
by Hua-Wei Chen, Su-Der Chen, Hung-Ta Wu, Chun-Hung Cheng, Chyow-San Chiou and Wei-Ting Chen
Nanomaterials 2024, 14(22), 1836; https://doi.org/10.3390/nano14221836 - 17 Nov 2024
Cited by 3 | Viewed by 1510
Abstract
Curcumin is utilized extensively as Chinese medicine in Asia due to its antioxidant, antimicrobial, and inflammatory activities. However, its use has the challenges of low oral bioavailability and high heat sensitivity. The aim of this research was to produce flexible nano-liposomes containing curcumin [...] Read more.
Curcumin is utilized extensively as Chinese medicine in Asia due to its antioxidant, antimicrobial, and inflammatory activities. However, its use has the challenges of low oral bioavailability and high heat sensitivity. The aim of this research was to produce flexible nano-liposomes containing curcumin using an innovative approach of ethanol injection and Tween 80 to enhance the stability and preservation of curcumin. The mean particle size, encapsulation efficiency, thermal degradation, storage stability, and curcumin release in flexible nano-liposomes were also investigated. We found that the mean particle size of curcumin-loaded flexible nano-liposome decreased from 278 nm to 27.6 nm. At the same time, the Tween 80 concentration increased from 0 to 0.15 wt%, which corresponded with the results of transmission electron microscopy (TEM) morphology analyses, and particle size decreased with an enhancement in Tween 80 concentration. Further, pure curcumin was quickly released within one hour at 37 °C, and first-order kinetics matched with its release curve. However, curcumin encapsulated in flexible nano-liposomes showed a slow release of 71.24% within 12 h, and a slower release pattern matched with the Higuchi model over 24 h, ultimately reaching 84.63% release. Hence, flexible nano-liposomes of curcumin made by a combination of ethanol injection and Tween 80 addition prevented the thermal degradation of curcumin, and enhanced its storage stability and preservation for future drug delivery applications. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Green Nanoparticles for Topical Administration of Drugs)
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