Topical Delivery Of Rifampicin Loaded Lipidic Nanoparticles Gel

Abstract

Objective: The objective of the present study was to develop and optimize rifampicin-loaded solid lipid nanoparticles for controlled drug delivery and to evaluate the performance of the optimized formulation.

Methods: Rifampicin-loaded solid lipid nanoparticles were prepared using the hot homogenization followed by ultrasonication method. A Box–Behnken design was applied to optimize lipid concentration, surfactant concentration, and stirring speed. The optimized batch (F2) was evaluated for percentage yield, drug loading, entrapment efficiency, particle size, polydispersity index, zeta potential, in-vitro drug release, FTIR compatibility, and release kinetics.

Results: The optimized formulation F2 exhibited high percentage yield (95.05%), maximum entrapment efficiency (91.25 ± 0.023%), and highest drug loading (9.52 ± 0.12%). Particle size analysis showed a nanosized distribution with a mean particle size of 136.2 nm, low PDI value (0.186), and a high negative zeta potential (−28.4 mV), indicating good stability and uniformity. In-vitro drug release studies revealed sustained release behavior with 99.9 ± 1.45% cumulative drug release over 720 minutes. FTIR analysis confirmed the presence of characteristic functional groups of the drug and excipients without any significant shift, indicating absence of chemical incompatibility. Release kinetic analysis demonstrated that drug release from F2 followed the Higuchi model (R² = 0.8993), suggesting diffusion-controlled release.

Conclusion: The optimized rifampicin-loaded solid lipid nanoparticle formulation (F2) demonstrated excellent physicochemical characteristics, high drug encapsulation, sustained drug release, and diffusion-controlled release kinetics, indicating its suitability as an effective controlled drug delivery system.