Pharm Dev Technol. 2026 May 5:1-14. doi: 10.1080/10837450.2026.2668485. Online ahead of print.
ABSTRACT
Lornoxicam (LX) is a potent non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug (NSAID) whose long-term oral administration is limited by gastrointestinal adverse effects. The present study aimed to develop and evaluate LX-loaded proniosomal topical gels as a strategy to enhance dermal permeation and anti-inflammatory efficacy, with direct comparison to a conventional LX gel. LX-loaded proniosomal Gels were formulated by combining lecithin, cholesterol, and a non-ionic surfactant. A conventional gel formulation was also prepared to compare its effectiveness with the proniosomal gel formulation. The vesicle size, Polydispersity index (PDI), zeta potential (ZP), encapsulation efficiency, morphology, in-vitro LX release, ex-vivo, and finally, the anti-inflammatory efficacy of both formulations was thoroughly characterized. For the proniosomal variants, vesicle sizes were recorded at 373 ± 29 nm for Span 60-based proniosomes (NS) and 230 ± 28 nm for Tween 80-based proniosomes (NT), with corresponding PDI values of 0.23 and 0.31 and zeta potentials of -26 mV and -28 mV, respectively. Encapsulation efficiency exceeded 88% across both formulations. Notably, ex vivo evaluations demonstrated markedly improved skin permeation in the proniosomal gels. The Fluxes measured 51. µg/cm2/hr. for NS, 18.7 relative to the standard gel (12.4). These findings were corroborated by anti-inflammatory efficacy studies, which revealed statistically significant improvements with the proniosomal gel (p < 0.05) compared to the standard formulation.
PMID:42084848 | DOI:10.1080/10837450.2026.2668485
