Development And Characterization Of Diacerin Loaded Niosomes For Improved Transdermal Delivery In Osteoarthritis

• Ghada Hamid Naji

  Department of Pharmaceutics, College of Pharmacy, University of Babylon, Babylon, Iraq.

General Background: Osteoarthritis is a chronic degenerative joint disease, while oral diacerein has limited dissolution and low bioavailability. Specific Background: Niosomes may provide a vesicular approach for transdermal diacerein delivery while addressing limitations associated with oral administration. Knowledge Gap: An optimized diacerein niosomal formulation requires appropriate surfactant, cholesterol ratio, and sonication conditions. Aims: This study aimed to develop and optimize diacerein-loaded niosomes using the thin film hydration method. Results: Formulation F8 showed a vesicle size of 164.92±0.41 nm, entrapment efficiency of 91.52±1.0%, PDI of 0.16±0.015, and zeta potential of −33.94 mV. Increasing Span 60 reduced vesicle size and increased entrapment efficiency, whereas higher cholesterol increased vesicle size and reduced entrapment efficiency. Longer sonication reduced vesicle size but decreased entrapment efficiency. Novelty: F8 combined favorable vesicle characteristics with high drug entrapment. Implications: F8 may serve as a candidate for further transdermal development, requiring ex vivo permeation and in vivo anti-inflammatory studies.

Key Findings Highlights

Span 60 increased drug entrapment while reducing vesicle size.

Higher cholesterol produced larger vesicles with lower entrapment.

Extended sonication reduced vesicle size but lowered drug entrapment.

Keywords : Diacerein, Niosomes, Transdermal Drug Delivery, Osteoarthritis, Nanovesicles

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