CONTEXT

Vesicular systems have attracted great attention in drug delivery because of their amphiphilicity, biodegradability, non-toxicity and potential for increasing drug bioavailability.

OBJECTIVE

A novel sugar-based double-tailed surfactant containing renewable block was synthesized for preparing niosomal vesicles that could be exploited for Levofloxacin encapsulation, aiming to increase its oral bioavailability.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

The surfactant was characterized by H NMR, mass spectroscopy and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR). Its biocompatibility was studied against cell cultures and human blood hemolysis. In vivo acute toxicity was evaluated in mice. The vesicle morphology, size, drug-excipients interaction and entrapment efficiency (EE) were examined using atomic force microscope (AFM), dynamic light scattering (DLS), FT-IR and HPLC. Oral bioavailability studies of Levofloxacin in surfactant-based niosomal formulation were carried out using rabbits and plasma samples were analyzed using HPLC.

RESULTS AND DISCUSSION

Vesicles were spherical in shape and the size was 190.31 ± 4.51 nm with a polydispersity index (PDI) of 0.29 ± 0.03. The drug EE in niosomes was 68.28 ± 3.45%. When applied on cell lines, high cell viability was observed even after prolonged exposure at high concentrations. It caused 5.77 ± 1.34% hemolysis at 1000 μg/mL and was found to be safe up to 2000 mg/kg. Elevated Levofloxacin plasma concentration was achieved when delivered with novel vesicles.

CONCLUSION

The surfactant was demonstrated to be safe and effective as carrier of Levofloxacin. The study suggests that this sugar-based double-tailed nonionic surfactant could be promising nano-vesicular system for delivery and enhancing oral bioavailability of the hydrophobic Levofloxacin.