Eprinomectin nanoemulgel for transdermal delivery against endoparasites and ectoparasites: preparation, in vitro and in vivo evaluation

Abstract Nanoemulgels are composed of O/W nanoemulsion and hydrogels and are considered as ideal carriers for the transdermal drug delivery because these have high affinity to load hydrophobic drugs. The stable formulation of eprinomectin (EPR) is very challenging because of it is high hydrophobic nature. In this work, we have prepared EPR loaded nanoemulgel for the treatment of endo- and ectoparasites. The surface morphology of optimized formulations was characterized by scanning electron microscopy. Additionally, skin permeability and irritation tests were conducted for in vitro safety and in vivo skin retention and pearmeation test of EPR nanoemulgel were conducted for efficacy study. Obtained results indicated that the optimized formulation had good shear-thinning behavior, bioadhesiveness properties, and are nanosized droplets with porous internal structure, which are required for topical application. Furthermore, this formulation has showed good skin permeability in comparison to suspension and has no skin irritating property. Overall, the obtained results proved that nanoemulgel is a promising carrier for transdermal drug delivery and EPR nanoemulgel is a promising formulation for the treatment of endo- and ectoparasites.