Release Studies on Ciprofloxacin Loaded Non-ionic Surfactant Vesicles

Background: Development of new drug carriers would be an interesting approach if it allowed increased efficacy of antibiotics and a reduction in doses, thus reducing the risk of developing resistance. As with most drug carriers, niosomes have been used to improve the selective delivery and the therapeutic index of antimicrobial agents. Methods: In this study, different formulation of niosomes containing ciprofloxacin (CPFX), Span (20, 60 or 80), Tween (20, 60 or 80) and cholesterol were prepared by film hydration method. The release of the drug from different formulations was studied by using Franz diffusion cell. The niosomes were further characterized by optical microscopy and particle size analysis, and their antimicrobial activity was evaluated. Results: Size of the niosomes was significantly dependent on the amount of cholesterol and surfactant type and varied from 8.56 to 61.3 μm. The entrapment efficiency of CPFX niosomes prepared by remote loading was more than 74%. Niosomes composed of Span/Tween 60 provided a higher CPFX release rate than other formulations. The obtained results indicated a diffusion-based mechanism for drug leakage through bilayers. All formulations presented more antibacterial activity as compared to free CPFX solution. Conclusion: Niosomal CPFX appears to be a promising approach in the management of bacterial infections, especially ophthalmic ones, and should be further evaluated by in vivo experiments.