Abstract: The present study aimed to formulate and evaluate an Econazole Nitrate nano emulsion for topical antifungal therapy in order to enhance drug solubility, stability, skin permeation, and sustained drug release. Eight nano emulsion formulations (F1–F8) were prepared by the high-speed homogenization followed by ultrasonication technique. The preformulation studies confirmed the purity and compatibility of Econazole Nitrate with the selected excipients. The prepared nano emulsions exhibited pH values ranging from 5.9 to 6.8, indicating compatibility with normal skin pH. Drug entrapment efficiency ranged from 81.19% to 93.56%, while viscosity values ranged from 72.91 to 101.01 cP. SEM analysis revealed spherical, uniformly distributed nano-sized droplets without aggregation. Particle size analysis showed droplet sizes between 186 and 243 nm, whereas zeta potential values ranged from −21 to −28 mV, indicating satisfactory physical stability. Among all formulations, F5 was identified as the optimized formulation with the highest drug entrapment efficiency (93.56%), smallest particle size (186 nm), suitable viscosity (98.56 cP), and cumulative drug release of 96.78% after 12 hours. Drug release kinetic analysis demonstrated that the optimized formulation followed the Higuchi diffusion model (R² = 0.993), indicating diffusion-controlled sustained drug release. Accelerated stability studies conducted for three months according to ICH guidelines confirmed that the optimized formulation remained physically and chemically stable without significant changes in drug release. The optimized formulation has significant potential for improving the therapeutic efficacy of topical antifungal treatment and may provide better patient compliance compared with conventional dosage forms. Further in vivo and clinical studies are warranted to confirm its therapeutic performance.
Dr.Y. Ganesh Kumar, A. Raviteja, Shanthi Lysetty, A. Anusha, N. Seshasarvani
Econazole Nitrate, FTIR Studies, High-speed homogenization Nano emulsion, In Vitro drug release studies
