The College of Pharmacy discussed the MSc thesis entitled “Preparation and Characterization of Ketoprofen Menthosomal Gel as a Topical Drug Delivery System” by the student Samara Mohammed Jasim and the supervisor, Assistant Professor Abeer Hassan Khasraghi, at the Pharmaceutics Department.
The study aimed to enhance transdermal permeation of ketoprofen by formulating it as a menthosomal and incorporating the optimized vesicular system into a topical gel formulation to improve drug delivery to the site of inflammation and enhance its therapeutic efficacy.
The study included the preparation of fifteen menthosomal formulations, including both ketoprofen-loaded and unloaded vesicles, using the hot preparation method. Different concentrations of menthol, Span 60, and soy lecithin were employed while maintaining constant amounts of ketoprofen and cholesterol. The prepared formulations were evaluated by measuring vesicle size, polydispersity index (PDI), and entrapment efficiency. The experimental data were statistically analyzed using Design-Expert® software (version 13.0.5.0). Drug–excipient compatibility was investigated using fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy, while the surface morphology of the vesicles was examined using scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The optimized formulation was subsequently incorporated into a carbopol-based gel and evaluated for skin compatibility, drug content, viscosity, ex vivo skin permeation through rat skin, and in vivo pharmacological activity.
The results showed that formulation K11 was the optimal formulation, exhibiting a particle size of 218.4 ± 12 nm, a PDI of 0.14 ± 0.04, a zeta potential of −35 mV. The EE% was 89.3 ± 1.3%, and a percentage of cumulative drug release was 95.7 ± 0.9% within 6 hours. The SEM images demonstrated spherical morphology with a uniform distribution, while FTIR analysis revealed good compatibility between ketoprofen and the excipients without any significant interactions. The menthosomal gel exhibited a drug content of 98.7 ± 0.8% and enhanced ketoprofen permeation across rat skin by 2.16-fold compared with the conventional non-vesicular gel. Furthermore, the in vivo anti-inflammatory study demonstrated a marked improvement in therapeutic efficacy, with the menthosomal gel producing approximately 60% inhibition of edema after five hours, compared with only 20% for the conventional gel.
The study recommends conducting further investigations on the pharmacokinetics and bioavailability of the menthosomal gel in vivo, as well as long-term stability studies to evaluate the effects of different storage conditions on the formulation’s quality, safety, and stability over time.
