FORMULATION AND PHYSICAL EVALUATION OF GLUCOCORTICOID LOADED TEA TREE OIL NANOEMULSION: A SUMMARIZED TECHNICAL NOTE

Clobetasol propionate (CP) has anti-inflammatory, immunomodulatory, and anti-proliferative activity. The current work aimed to prepare and evaluate the nanoemulsions of CP loaded tea tree oil (TTO) would be stable nanoemulsion. Clinical use of CP is restricted to some extent due to its poor permeability across the skin. So, to increase its permeation across the skin, microemulsion based formulations were prepared and characterized. Microemulsions were prepared by aqueous phase titration method, using TTO, tween 20 transcutol P, and distilled water as the oil phase, surfactant, co-surfactant, and aqueous phase, respectively. Selected formulations were subjected to physical stability studies. Malven Zeta seizer did particle size distribution of nanoemulsion. In surface studies of the optimized formulation were done by Transmission Electron Microscopy. The nanoemulsion (A2) was a colloidal dispersion having average droplet size ranging from 100 to 200 nm. The nanoemulsion (A2) formulation exhibited a narrow size distribution (PI = 0.131). The optimized formulation exhibited viscosity 28.30 ± 1.91 mP, refractive index 1.403, pH 6.15, and conductivity 10^-4 s cm^-1. The optimized formulation was found that the formulation A2 consisting of 15% oil phase, 35% (S_mix 1:1) and 50% distilled water exhibited 42.52% of cumulative amount of drug permeated (µg/cm²) after 24 h and highest amount of drug deposited in skin 31.06 (µg/cm²). Conclusion: The developed CP loaded TTO nanoemulsion was stable and good deposition of CP in the deeper layer of skin which may result in sustainable and good anti-inflammatory activity for the treatment of psoriasis.