Formulation and Characterization of Intranasal Drug Delivery of Frovatriptan-Loaded Binary Ethosomes Gel for Brain Targeting

Abstract

Background: Frovatriptan succinate (FVT) is an effective medication used to treat migraines; however, available oral formulations suffer from low permeability; accordingly, several formulations of FVT were prepared. Objective: Prepare, optimize, and evaluate FVT-BE formulation to develop enhanced intranasal binary nano-ethosome gel.‎. Methods: Binary ethosomes were prepared using different concentrations of phospholipid PLH90, ethanol, propylene glycol, and cholesterol by thin film hydration and characterized by particle size, zeta potential, and entrapment efficiency. Furthermore, in-vitro, in-vivo, ex-vivo, pharmacokinetics, and histopathological studies were done. Results: Regarding FVT-loaded BE, formula (F9) demonstrated the best parameters from the other formulas; with the lowest particle size (154.1± 4.38‎ nm), lowest PDI (‎ 0.213± 0.05), highest zeta potential (‎-46.94± 1.05), and highest entrapment efficiency (89.34± 2.37%). Regarding gel formulation, G2 showed the best gel formula with drug content (‎ 99.82± 0.02‎%) and spreadability (12.88 g/cm 2 ). In-vitro study results showed that, in the first 30 minutes, around 22.3% of the medication is released, whereas, after 24 hours, about 98.56% is released in G2. Conclusion: Based on enhancing the bioavailability and sustaining the drug release, it can be concluded that the Frovatriptan-Loaded Binary ethosome Gel as nano-delivery was developed as a promising non-invasive drug delivery system for treating migraine. Keywords: intranasal, frovatriptan, brain delivery, binary ethosome