Department of Chemistry, The American University in Cairo, Cairo, Egypt.
Research and Development EVA Cosmetics Corp, Cairo, Egypt.
J Cosmet Dermatol. 2019 Dec;18(6):1875-1884. doi: 10.1111/jocd.12891. Epub 2019 Feb 19.
Solid lipid nanoparticles (SLNs) are dispersions synthesized by replacing liquid lipid in an o/w emulsion with solid lipids. Nanostructured lipid carriers (NLCs) improve on some of the major limitations of the SLNs as NLCs use liquid lipids along with crystalline solid fatty acids to build the core.
This work aims to investigate the potential advantage of using Prickly Pear (PP) seed oil to develop NLCs for topical delivery of vitamin A.
Four PP-based NLC formulations with varying composition have been developed using the hot homogenization method and compared with a SLN formulation that is free of PP oil. The effect of this variation on entrapment efficiency, in vitro release behavior, and ex vivo permeation, was investigated. Additionally, particle size and polydispersity index (PDI) upon storage, zeta potential, and thermal behavior were characterized.
PP-based NLCs exhibited smaller particle size in the range of 215-244 nm, and PDI <0.3. In contrast, SLN having no PP oil had a larger diameter of 365 nm, with heterogeneous distribution (0.92 PDI). In assessing the in vitro release, an inverse relationship was observed between the diffusion flux and the entrapment efficiency. The changes in the constituting matrix of the NLCs lead to a significant potential variation in their properties, and hence allowing it to be tailored for specific usages.
In all cases, NLCs formulations have shown superior attributes to the SLN carriers. This was linked in most cases to the presence of PP oil, supporting the value of utilizing PP oil in cosmeceutical applications.
固体脂质纳米粒（SLN）是通过用固体脂质替代 o/w 乳剂中的液体脂质而合成的分散体。纳米结构脂质载体（NLC）改善了 SLN 的一些主要局限性，因为 NLC 同时使用液体脂质和结晶固体脂肪酸来构建核心。
本研究旨在探讨使用仙人掌籽油开发用于局部递送维生素 A 的 NLC 的潜在优势。
使用热匀化法开发了四种具有不同组成的基于仙人掌的 NLC 制剂，并与不含仙人掌油的 SLN 制剂进行了比较。研究了这种变化对包封效率、体外释放行为和体外渗透的影响。此外，还对储存时的粒径和多分散指数（PDI）、Zeta 电位和热行为进行了表征。
基于仙人掌的 NLC 粒径在 215-244nm 范围内，PDI<0.3。相比之下，不含仙人掌油的 SLN 粒径较大，为 365nm，分布不均（PDI 为 0.92）。在评估体外释放时，发现扩散通量与包封效率呈反比关系。NLC 组成基质的变化导致其性质发生显著变化，因此可以针对特定用途进行定制。
在所有情况下，NLC 制剂的特性均优于 SLN 载体。这在大多数情况下与仙人掌油的存在有关，支持在化妆品应用中使用仙人掌油的价值。
