Maddalena Sguizzato

University of Ferrara, Italy

Title: Ethosomes for transdermal delivery of natural antioxidant molecules: design and activity on 2D and 3D skin models

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Biography

Maddalena Sguizzato is currently working as a Researcher at the University of Ferrara. Her research is focused on the design of novel drug delivery systems for natural molecules based on green approaches suitable as nutraceutical and cosmeceutical products.

Dr. Sguizzato obtained her Ph.D. in Chemical Sciences at the University of Ferrara in February 2020. During the Ph.D. and the Post-Doc, she worked on the development of nanotechnological strategies for topical administration of active compounds. In the framework of the Ph.D. program, Dr. Sguizzato was Visiting Ph.D. student at North Carolina State University in 2018 working on the in vitro and exvivo evaluation of antioxidant and antiproliferative effects of loaded-nanoparticles and hydrogels.

Abstract

Ethosomes are novel smart transdermal vehicles suitable for the topical application of drugs. A wide range of natural active molecules, including coenzyme Q10 and caffeic acid, are able to counteract oxidative stress, but their use is limited by the high physico-chemical instability. Hence, their encapsulation into ethosomes represents an interesting strategy to protect the antioxidant potential and promote the transdermal delivery thanks to the malleable properties of ethosomal vesicles. Ethosomes based on phosphatidylcholine were produced and characterized in terms of size, morphology and entrapment capacity, obtaining stable vesicles with mean diameter around 200 nm, a typical ‘fingerprint’ structure, and high encapsulation yields. In vitro and ex-vivo studies demonstrated the uptake of ethosomes in human skin fibroblasts and the passage of the vesicles through 3D reconstituted human epidermis. The protective effect of coenzyme Q10 against H2O2 employed as oxidative stress challenger has been evaluated by immunofluorescence, comparing the 4-hydroxynonenal protein adducts levels. The pretreatment with ethosomes containing CoQ10 exerted a consistent activity against oxidative stress, in both 2D and 3D models. The possibility to obtain a semisolid formulation suitable for cutaneous application was explored by thickening caffeic acid loaded-ethosome dispersion with poloxamer 407. The rheological behavior of the ethosomal gel was evaluated and the influence in drug diffusion was investigated by Franz cells experiments. Moreover, the addition of poloxamer slightly modified vesicle structure and size, while it decreased the vesicle deformability.