Development and Evaluation of Fenticonazole Nitrate Loaded Fucoidan Crafted Lecithin Chitosan Nanoparticles for the Treatment of Vaginitis

Abstract

In this investigation, self-assembling nanoparticles Fenticonazole loaded lecithin chitosan nanoparticles (FZNP) with cationic zeta potential was altered by coating them with anionic fucoidan polymer (Fu-FZNP) through ionic gelation method to overcome vaginal mucosal barrier. The particle size of FZNP and Fu-FZNP were 129.20±0.25 nm and 227.10±1.54 nm, polydispersity index was 0.21±0.00, 0.26±0.01 and zeta potential were 30.96±1.15 mV and -26.75±0.3. The entrapment efficiency and drug loading were 65.47± 2.32% and 11.69±0.414% for FZNP, 71.13±5.74% and 7.41±0.60% for Fu-FZNP, respectively. The nanoparticle exhibited spherical and smooth morphology under TEM imaging. An excised goat vagina was used for the ex-vivo permeation studies, drug permeation was observed 61.74±2.07% for FZNP and 72.11±1.4% for Fu-FZNP. FZNP and Fu-FZNP demonstrated antibacterial and antifungal properties against Staphylococcus aureus and Candida albicans, respectively, in-vitro. Therefore, FZN and Fu-FZNP lecithin chitosan nanoparticles may be developed further for the safe, practical, and efficient treatment of mixed vaginal infections.