European Journal of Biomedical and Pharmaceutical Sciences

DEVELOPMENT AND CHARACTERIZATION OF NOVEL CARRIER FOR DRUG DELIVERY OF ANTIFUNGAL DRUG

Vivek Gupta* and Chitra Solanki

ABSTRACT

Fungal infections are the most common diseases found in tropical countries like India, but these infections are neglected and hence spread to other parts of the body. The most commonly used antifungal agents are Miconazole, these molecules being imidazole derivatives with high lipophilicity. It act against most pathogenic fungi and some Gram- positive bacteria. Usually they are well tolerated and their low toxicity allows them to be safely used for treating several cutaneous or systemic infections. However, anaphylactic reactions and cardio respiratory toxicity of Miconazole, which have been fatal in several cases, have led to premature cessation of therapy in some cases. Similarly, the bioactivity of Miconazole is found to be lower than the Ketoconzole. Encouraging results have been obtained on the treatment of topical fungal infections with liposomal or novel vesicular formulations of these antifungal drugs, but due to their size and rigid lipid bilayer they were not able to penetrate efficiently across the skin layer. However, ethosomes with high alcohol content are capable of enhancing penetration into deep tissues and systemic circulation. After nearly ten years of extensive research, ethosomes have proved to be good delivery carriers in transdermal field and their penetration enhancement capability has been widely accepted. The Transfersome preparations containing Miconazole are conceptually sophisticated; they are characterized by simplicity in their preparation, good stability, safety and efficacy- a combination that can highly expand their application in the treatment of fungal infections.

Keywords: Fungal infection, Miconazole, Transfersome, Drug delivery system, Antifungal drugs.