Aim: To design microemulsions as carriers to improve cisplatin permeation capability for intravesical administration.
Method: The response surface methodology with factorial design was used to investigate and optimise the influence of the compositions e.g. capryol 90 and 5-pentanediol/transcutol mixture on the permeation accumulation amount and tissue deposition amount of cisplatin-loaded microemulsions. The in vitro permeation study and in vivo intravesical test were conducted to prove the effect of microemulsions.
Results: The droplet size and the viscosity of all drug-loaded formulations ranged 235.8-309.3 nm and 550.8-861.7 cps, respectively. The permeation accumulation amounts significantly increased about 26-fold, by used microemulsion as carriers. In vivo study, the cisplatin deposition amount in bladder tissue significantly increased 4.1-fold (p < 0.05) and the penetration depth increased from 60 μm up 120 μm. The nanocarrier showed considerable thermodynamic stability.
Conclusion: The designed nanocarrier was considered to be a promising delivery system for cisplatin intravesical administration.
Keywords: Cisplatin; factorial design; intravesical administration; microemulsion; response surface methodology.