Evaluation of Calcipotriol Solid Lipid Nanoparticles in Male BALB/c Mice Psoriasis Model

Background and

Psoriasis is an autoimmune inflammatory disease with major skin involvement. Calcipotriol as a vitamin-D analogue is one of the common drugs for topical treatment of psoriasis. Local drug delivery, due to higher concentration of drug at the sites of inflammation, is more effective and causes fewer systemic side effects. Limited skin penetration and durability of common topical formulations reduce the efficacy of treatment. In this study, we aimed to investigate the effect of solid lipid nanoparticles loaded with calcipotriol on local drug delivery.

In the present study, which is an interventional in vivo study, Solid Lipid Nanoparticle (SLN) was prepared by melting method and mixed with semi-solid base (cream). Then the effectiveness of the final formulation was investigated on the psoriasis model induced by imiquimod 5% in BALB/c mice. Three groups were included in this investigation: negative control (no treatment), positive control (conventional calcipotriol cream), and SLN (SLN cream with calcipotriol).

The results of the present study showed that, the SLN cream significantly reduced inflammatory scores compared to the other two groups on day five (P<0.0001). In addition, drug loading into SLN significantly increased the rate of healing and reduced inflammation.

This study showed that calcipotriol loading with SLN can improve the quality and the rate of treatment of skin lesions caused by psoriasis.