Evaluation of a Polymer-Lipid-Polymer System Utilising Hybrid Nanoparticles of Dapsone as a Novel Antiacne Agent

Background: Topical drug delivery system is an attractive way to target dermatological disorders. Dapsone is commonly used as anti-leprotic drug. In this research work dapsone was repurposed for treating acne via topical application. Objective: The aim of present work was to formulate, optimize and characterize hybrid nanoparticles (HNs) containing DAP (dapsone) and incorporating the same into a topical gel base. Method: The HNs were prepared using melt-emulsification and ultrasonication process. The HN formulations were characterized for particle size, zeta potential and entrapment efficiency applying 23 factorial design. Results: The results revealed that HN-4 has an average particle size of 277nm, zeta potential of -26.7 mV, entrapment efficiency of 75.81%. Transmission electron microscopy (TEM) confirmed that HNs were spherical in shape with polymer core surrounded by a lipid shell. Further, the pelletized HNs were incorporated in carbopol 940 gel base and analysed for pH, drug content, viscosity and optimized batch was evaluated for texture analysis, in-vitro skin permeation, and antimicrobial study. The stability studies showed that DAP-HN4 G3 (dapsone loaded carbopol gel) stored at 40±2oC was stable and non-irritant as per Hen’s Egg Test Chorioallantoic Membrane (HET CAM) study. Conclusion: It can be concluded that formulation containing DAP HNs was found to be stable, non-irritant and may prove to be an effective and promising delivery system for acne treatment.