Development and evaluation of fenticonazole nitrate-loaded, fucoidan-coated lecithin–chitosan nanoparticles for the treatment of vaginitis

Abstract

In this investigation, self-assembling fenticonazole-loaded lecithin–chitosan nanoparticles (FZNP) with cationic zeta potential were altered by coating them with an anionic fucoidan polymer (Fu-FZNP) through an ionic gelation method to overcome the vaginal mucosal barrier. FZNP and Fu-FZNP possessed particle sizes of 129.20 ± 0.25 nm and 227.10 ± 1.54 nm, polydispersity indexes of 0.21 ± 0.00 and 0.26 ± 0.01, and zeta potentials of 30.96 ± 1.15 mV and −26.75 ± 0.3 mV, respectively. The entrapment efficiency and drug loading were 65.47% ± 2.32% and 11.69% ± 0.414% for FZNP and 71.13% ± 5.74% and 7.41% ± 0.60% for Fu-FZNP, respectively. The nanoparticles exhibited spherical and smooth morphology under TEM imaging. An excised goat vagina was used for the ex vivo permeation studies, which showed drug permeations of 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 may be developed further for the safe, practical, and efficient treatment of mixed vaginal infections.