Influence of Liposomes and Niosomes on the in Vitro Permeation and Skin Retention of Finasteride

In this work we sought to determine whether vesicles (liposomes/niosomes) wereable to enhance finasteride concentration in the dermis layer, including thepilosebaceous units (psu). such enhancement could be beneficial in the treatmentof some androgen-related skin disorders. hamster flank skin was used to study 3hfinasteridepermeation via vesicles and a hydroalcoholic solution (ha). thedrug-containing vesicles were composed of dimyristoyl phosphatidylcholine(dmpc) or egg lecithin: cholesterol: dicetyl phosphate (liposomes) and polyoxyethylenealkyl ethers (brij® series) or sorbitan monopalmitate (span 40):cholesterol: dicetyl phosphate (niosomes) and were prepared by the film hydrationtechnique. determination of finasteride content by hplc showed 80-97% drugentrapment efficiency in the vesicles. the amount of 3h-finasteride penetrated intoand permeated through hamster skin 24 h after topical application of vesiclesranged from 5.5 to 13% of the initial dose, compared to 24%, observed with ha(p<0.05). the amount of finasteride deposited within the different skin strata via gelstatespan 40 and lecithin vesicles was lower, when compared with liquid-state brij97,brij 76: brij 97 and dmpc vesicles. the fraction of finasteride found in the dermislayer was greatest where dmpc liposomes were used (7.8%). the vesiclessignificantly reduced drug permeation as indicated by the flux of finasteride fromvesicles (0.025-0.058 µg/cm2.h), where compared with the ha (0.13 µg/cm2.h),(p<0.01). this study demonstrated the potentials of liquid-state vesicles in reducingthe percutaneous absorption of finasteride and increasing its concentration andretention in the dermis layer.