DOI: https://doi.org/10.55373/mjchem.v26i5.431

Keywords: Prednisolone; solid lipid nanoparticles; transdermal drug delivery; Box-Behnken design

Abstract

Prednisolone, a corticosteroid known for its anti-inflammatory and immunosuppressive properties, is administered either orally or via injection. The present research investigated the preformulation aspects and physicochemical characteristics of prednisolone-loaded solid lipid nanoparticles (SLNs), aiming to explore their potential as a transdermal drug delivery system. Prednisolone-loaded SLNs were prepared using the emulsification-ultrasonication technique, employing cetyl alcohol and Tween 20 as the solid lipid and surfactant, respectively. The Box-Behnken design assessed the impact of various independent variables, including lipid concentration, surfactant concentration, and lipid/drug ratio, on the measured particle size, polydispersity index (PDI), and zeta potential. Physicochemical characterisation was performed using attenuated total reflectance-Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (ATR-FTIR) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). The results demonstrated that the SLNs containing prednisolone had mostly rod-shaped or cuboidal particles, with an average size ranging from 59.99 to 594.70 nm. The PDI exhibited a range of values from 0.39 to 1, while the zeta potential was observed to vary between -34.37 and -15.73 mV. The ATR-FTIR analysis showed that the incorporation of prednisolone into the solid lipid of the nanoparticles was successful. This was confirmed by the masking of drug absorption peaks in the spectral range of 1600 to 3500 cm-1, indicating that prednisolone was effectively loaded into the SLNs.