Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Guru Jambheshwar University of Science and Technology, Hisar, 125001, Haryana, India.
National Institute of Malaria Research, Sector-8, Dwarka, Delhi- 110077, India.
Curr Pharm Biotechnol. 2020;21(4):341-351. doi: 10.2174/1389201020666191120124314.
Citronella Oil (CO) was used by the Indian army as mosquito repellant to repel mosquitoes at the beginning of the 20th century and later in 1948, it was registered in the USA for commercial purposes. Due to its ecofriendly nature, CO possesses immense potential as a mosquito repellent.
Citronella oil is a valuable alternative to synthetic mosquito repellents commonly used nowadays. However, its volatile nature, poor stability in air and high temperature restrict its application. Its direct application on skin may lead to skin irritation. To surmount the above-mentioned issues, the present research aims to develop Microsponge (MS), a novel dosage form for enhancing the utility and safety of CO. Quasi emulsion solvent diffusion method was chosen for crafting MS using ethyl cellulose with various drug-polymer ratios and characterized. In vitro cytotoxicity evaluation was also carried out to check the dermal safety of COMS.
The present results revealed that the size of all prepared formulation lies in the micro range (20 ± 3 to 41 ± 4 μm), with good payload (42.09± 3.24 to 67.08± 6.43%). The results of FE-SEM depicted that MS were spherical in shape with porous nature. Cytotoxicity results indicated that COMS were safe on skin cells, when compared to pure CO. The optimized MS were also assessed for larvicidal assay against larvae of Anopheles culicifacies.
The CO micro-formulations were found to possess enhanced stability of this oil. Entrapment of CO in MS resulted in a better vehicle system in terms of safety, stability and handling benefits of this oil.
柠檬草油 (CO) 在 20 世纪初被印度军队用作驱蚊剂，后来在 1948 年，它在美国注册用于商业用途。由于其环保性质，CO 具有作为驱蚊剂的巨大潜力。
柠檬草油是一种有价值的替代物，可替代现今常用的合成驱蚊剂。然而，其挥发性、在空气中和高温下的稳定性差限制了它的应用。其直接应用于皮肤可能会导致皮肤刺激。为了克服上述问题，本研究旨在开发微球（MS），这是一种增强 CO 效用和安全性的新型剂型。选择准乳液溶剂扩散法，使用乙基纤维素和不同的药物-聚合物比例来制作 MS，并对其进行表征。还进行了体外细胞毒性评价，以检查 COMS 的皮肤安全性。
本结果表明，所有制备的制剂的粒径均在微范围内（20±3 至 41±4μm），载药量良好（42.09±3.24 至 67.08±6.43%）。FE-SEM 的结果表明 MS 呈球形，具有多孔性。细胞毒性结果表明，与纯 CO 相比，COMS 对皮肤细胞是安全的。还对优化后的 MS 进行了针对库蚊幼虫的杀幼虫试验。
发现 CO 的微制剂具有增强的油稳定性。将 CO 包封在 MS 中，在安全性、稳定性和处理便利性方面，为这种油提供了更好的载体系统。
