Feasibility of binary composition in development of nanoethosomal glycolic vesicles of triamcinolone acetonide using Box-behnken design: in vitro and ex vivo characterization

Triamcinolone acetonide (TA) employed for the treatment of atopic dermatitis exhibits limited penetration into the epidermis. This investigation aimed to explore the role of binary solvents in topical drug delivery of TA by developing nanoethosomal glycolic lipid vesicles by infusion method. Screening of vesicles (TA1-TA17) formulated by Box Behnken design identified the optimized formulation (TA10) that was developed as carbomer gels. The gels were then evaluated for pharmaceutical properties and compared with control and reference ethosomal gel (RG). Higher in vitro permeation was found in gels containing TA10, prepared with or without using penetration enhancer (EGP 83.76 +/- 0.72% and EG 82.42 +/- 0.89%, respectively). CLSM studies depicted deeper uniform penetration of fluorescent tracer into the epidermis via EG as compared with RG and control gel. Enhanced penetration was due to combinational solvent effect exerted by ethanol and propylene glycol. Histological analysis confirmed the non-irritant potential of the gel. Thus, it can be concluded that nanoethosomal glycolic vesicles proved to be an effective non irritant carrier for improvised penetration of triamcinolone acetonide for potential topical therapeutics.