Deformable liposomes and ethosomes as carriers for skin delivery of ketotifen

Deformable liposomes and ethosomes were investigated as carriers for skin delivery of ketotifen (KT) in terms of vesicle size, entrapment efficiency, stability, in vitro permeation and skin deposition properties. Phosphatidylcholine (PC) from soybean lecithin was used in the preparation of all vesicles. Sodium cholate, sodium deoxycholate and Tween 80 were investigated as edge activators in preparation of KT deformable liposomes. KT ethosomes were prepared in two PC concentrations, 2% and 4.25% w/v, in 30% v/v ethanol. KT deformable liposomes showed improved entrapment efficiency over KT ethosomes. KT deformable liposomes with Tween 80 as an edge activator were more stable upon storage at 5 +/- 1 degree C than those prepared using sodium cholate or sodium deoxycholate and were more stable than KT ethosomes. In vitro permeation and skin deposition studies employed only deformable liposomes with Tween 80 as an edge activator and ethosomes with 4.25% w/v PC concentration. Both of them improved skin delivery of KT over controls and over traditional liposomes, with greater improvement of KT skin deposition than KT skin permeation, hence are more useful for dermal than for transdermal delivery of KT.