An eco-friendly and green formulation in lipid nanotechnology for delivery of a hydrophilic agent to the skin in the treatment and management of hyperpigmentation complaints: Arbutin niosome (Arbusome)

The present work designed to improve the skin delivery of arbutin niosome (arbusome) was prepared via an ultrasonic technique. The arbusome formulations were optimized by investigating the effects of the cholesterol:surfactants ratio. To characterize the morphology and solid-state of arbutin in arbusome, differential scanning calorimetry, photon correlation spectroscopy, powder x-ray diffractometer, scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and attenuated total reflectance-Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy were utilized. The findings indicated that adding cholesterol incremented the arbusome's particle size. Further studies proved that the zeta potential and the size of nanoparticles can be modulated by the alterations in the ratio of cholesterol: surfactant. When the cholesterol concentration was high in the formulation, the highest entrapment efficiency was found to be approximately 44 %. Solid-state analysis showed that arbutin in the niosome was in the amorphous state. The skin permeation test indicated the greater quantities of the arbutin in skin layers and the receptor chamber for arbusome gel compared to arbutin simple gel. Furthermore, in vitro cytotoxicity test indicated no cytotoxicity for the improved formulation of niosome containing arbutin. The cell viability (HFF cell line) for niosomal formulation of arbutin was reported to be about 86 %. The formulations were examined in terms of skin irritation on Wistar rats, and non-irritancy of arbutin niosomal gels was indicated. The findings of this work discovered that the manufactured arbusome could be utilized as possible nano-vehicle for the arbutin topical delivery and might open new approaches for the treatment of hyperpigmentation complaints.