QUALITY BY DESIGN AND CHARACTERIZATION OF EDARAVONE SLN TO IMPROVE BRAIN DELIVERY BY NASAL ROUTE FOR THE TREATMENT OF ALZHEIMER’S DISEASE

Authors

  • CH. BHAVANI School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Vels Institute of Science, Technology and Advanced Studies (VISTAS). Pallavaram, Chennai-600117, Tamilnadu, India. Department of Pharmaceutics, CMR College of Pharmacy, Medchal, Hyderabad, Telangana-501401, India https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1539-583X
  • P. BALAJI School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Vels Institute of Science, Technology and Advanced Studies (VISTAS). Pallavaram, Chennai-600117, Tamilnadu, India https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5317-1661

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.22159/ijap.2026v18i1.55684

Keywords:

Solid lipid nanoparticles, Central composite design, Alzheimer’s disease, Design of experiments, Entrapment efficiency, Edaravone

Abstract

Objective: The present study aims at formulation development of solid lipid nanoparticles of Edaravone (EDN), for nasal administration to improve the permeation through blood blood-brain barrier for therapeutically effect on Alzheimer’s disease.

Methods: Solid lipid nanoparticles (SLN) are formulated by using the lipid core of Glyceryl monostearate and Tween80 as surfactant through emulsification, solvent evaporation technique and optimized by using 32 central composite design (CCD) secondary overlay plots. Selection of the optimized formulation based on the dependable factors like entrapment efficiency (EE), particle size, polydispersity index (PDI), zeta potential and drug release studies. The selected optimized formulation was subjected to test the behavioral changes in Wister rats.

Results: The final optimized formulation was observed as particle size of<200 nm. Entrapment efficiency of 87%, zeta potential of-21.23mEV and drug release of 84%. In vivo studies with the SLN encapsulated EDN showed better memory retention when comparing with the pure drug formulation. Y-Maze test behavioral score with control group 24.5±3.39% was considerably lower with the ENP-treated group (53.5±4.41% for high dose).

Conclusion: EDN encapsulated SLN delivered through the nasal route of administration has the better therapeutical applications in nano formulation strategies.

References

1. Astruc D. Introduction to nanomedicine. Molecules. 2015;21(1):E4. doi: 10.3390/molecules21010004, PMID 26791291.

2. Pentu N, Namitha G, Chandrika KU, Ram KA, Vallala VR, Morsu A. Targeted lipid-based vesicles as drug delivery systems in cancer treatment. Int J Pharm Investigation. 2025 Apr;15(3):770-6. doi: 10.5530/ijpi.20250171.

3. Girdhar V, Patil S, Banerjee S, Singhvi G. Nanocarriers for drug delivery: mini review. Curr Nanomed. 2018 Nov;8(2):88-99. doi: 10.2174/2468187308666180501092519.

4. Mistry A, Stolnik S, Illum L. Nanoparticles for direct nose-to-brain delivery of drugs. Int J Pharm. 2009;379(1):146-57. doi: 10.1016/j.ijpharm.2009.06.019, PMID 19555750.

5. Mittal D, Ali A, Md S, Baboota S, Sahni JK, Ali J. Insights into direct nose to brain delivery: current status and future perspective. Drug Deliv. 2014 Mar;21(2):75-86. doi: 10.3109/10717544.2013.838713, PMID 24102636.

6. Pandey S, Nainwal N, Negi T, Lohar AK, Kumar S, Kumar S. Nose-to-brain delivery of microcarrier in the treatment of neurodegenerative diseases. J Appl Pharm Sci. 2024;15(3):22-9. doi: 10.7324/JAPS.2025.211124.

7. Pottoo FH, Sharma S, Javed MN, Barkat MA, Harshita, Alam MS. Lipid-based nanoformulations in the treatment of neurological disorders. Drug Metab Rev. 2020 Jan;52(1):185-204. doi: 10.1080/03602532.2020.1726942, PMID 32116044.

8. Giunchedi P, Gavini E, Bonferoni MC. Nose-to-brain delivery. Pharmaceutics. 2020;12(2):138. doi: 10.3390/pharmaceutics12020138, PMID 32041344.

9. Ribeiro ME, De Moura CL, Vieira MG, Gramosa NV, Chaibundit C, De Mattos MC. Solubilisation capacity of Brij surfactants. Int J Pharm. 2012 Oct;436(1-2):631-5. doi: 10.1016/j.ijpharm.2012.07.032, PMID 22842626.

10. Shimizu H, Nishimura Y, Shiide Y, Yoshida K, Hirai M, Matsuda M. Bioequivalence study of oral suspension and intravenous formulation of edaravone in healthy adult subjects. Clin Pharmacol Drug Dev. 2021 Oct;10(10):1188-97. doi: 10.1002/cpdd.952, PMID 33955162.

11. Shimizu H, Nishimura Y, Shiide Y, Akimoto M, Yashiro M, Ueda M. Pharmacokinetics of edaravone oral suspension in patients with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis. Clin Ther. 2023 Dec;45(12):1251-8. doi: 10.1016/j.clinthera.2023.09.025, PMID 37953075.

12. Dinda A, Biswal I, Chowdhury P, Mohapatra R. Formulation development and evaluation of paclitaxel-loaded solid lipid nanoparticles using glyceryl monostearate. J Appl Pharm Sci. 2013;3(8):133-8. doi: 10.7324JAPS.2013.3823.

13. Helgason T, Awad TS, Kristbergsson K, McClements DJ, Weiss J. Effect of surfactant surface coverage on formation of solid lipid nanoparticles (SLN). J Colloid Interface Sci. 2009 Jun;334(1):75-81. doi: 10.1016/j.jcis.2009.03.012, PMID 19380149.

14. Eller RH, Eder KM, Gohla S. Solid lipid nanoparticles (SLN) for controlled drug delivery a review of the state of the art. European Journal of Pharmaceutics and Biopharmaceutics. 2000 Jul 3;50(1):161-77. doi: 10.1016/S0939-6411(00)00087-4.

15. Hassan H, Adam SK, Alias E, Meor Mohd Affandi MM, Shamsuddin AF, Basir R. Central composite design for formulation and optimization of solid lipid nanoparticles to enhance oral bioavailability of acyclovir. Molecules. 2021 Sep;26(18):5432. doi: 10.3390/molecules26185432, PMID 34576904.

16. Hao J, Wang F, Wang X, Zhang D, Bi Y, Gao Y. Development and optimization of baicalin-loaded solid lipid nanoparticles prepared by coacervation method using central composite design. Eur J Pharm Sci. 2012 Sep;47(2):497-505. doi: 10.1016/j.ejps.2012.07.006, PMID 22820033.

17. Tavares Luiz M, Santos Rosa Viegas J, Palma Abriata J, Viegas F, Testa Moura De Carvalho Vicentini F, Lopes Badra Bentley MV. Design of experiments (DoE) to develop and to optimize nanoparticles as drug delivery systems. Eur J Pharm Biopharm. 2021;165:127-48. doi: 10.1016/j.ejpb.2021.05.011, PMID 33992754.

18. Laxmi BV, Bhikshapathi DV, Rajesham VV, Poornima P, Sandhya P, Arjun G. Maximizing the potential of ibrutinib: multi-factor optimization and interaction analysis for improved nanobubble formulation and bioavailability performance. Int J App Pharm. 2025;17(5):214-26. doi: 10.22159/ijap.2025v17i5.54081.

19. Vaishnavi CE, Ajitha Azhakesan Narendra Pentu. QBD approach for the development of nanosponge-loaded topical gel of fucoidan for the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis: in vitro ex-vivo and in vivo assessment. Int J App Pharm. 2025;17(2):402-14. doi: 10.22159/ijap.2025v17i2.52746.

20. Souto EB, Fangueiro JF, Fernandes AR, Cano A, Sanchez Lopez E, Garcia ML. Physicochemical and biopharmaceutical aspects influencing skin permeation and role of SLN and NLC for skin drug delivery. Heliyon. 2022 Feb;8(2):e08938. doi: 10.1016/j.heliyon.2022.e08938, PMID 35198788.

21. Sathya S, Manogari BG, Thamaraiselvi K, Vaidevi S, Ruckmani K, Devi KP. Phytol-loaded PLGA nanoparticles ameliorate scopolamine-induced cognitive dysfunction by attenuating cholinesterase activity, oxidative stress and apoptosis in Wistar rat. Nutr Neurosci. 2022 Mar;25(3):485-501. doi: 10.1080/1028415X.2020.1764290, PMID 32406811.

22. Shehata MK, Ismail AA, Kamel MA. Nose to brain delivery of astaxanthin-loaded nanostructured lipid carriers in rat model of Alzheimer’s disease: preparation in vitro and in vivo evaluation. Int J Nanomedicine. 2023 Mar;18:1631-58. doi: 10.2147/IJN.S402447, PMID 37020692.

23. Subramanian M, Munuswamy K, Pitchaimuthu P. Neuroprotective effects of withaferin a nanoparticles on scopolamine rat model of Alzheimer’s disease. Indian J Pharm Educ Res. 2023 Jul;57(3s):s620-5. doi: 10.5530/ijper.57.3s.70.

24. Danish SM, Gupta A, Khan UA, Hasan N, Ahmad FJ, Warsi MH. Intranasal cerium oxide nanoparticles ameliorate cognitive function in rats with Alzheimer’s via anti-oxidative pathway. Pharmaceutics. 2022 Mar;14(4):756. doi: 10.3390/pharmaceutics14040756, PMID 35456590.

25. Maurice T, Lockhart BP, Privat A. Amnesia induced in mice by centrally administered β-amyloid peptides involves cholinergic dysfunction. Brain Res. 1996 Jan;706(2):181-93. doi: 10.1016/0006-8993(95)01032-7, PMID 8822355.

26. Morris R. Developments of a water-maze procedure for studying spatial learning in the rat. J Neurosci Methods. 1984 May;11(1):47-60. doi: 10.1016/0165-0270(84)90007-4, PMID 6471907.

27. Demetzos C. Differential scanning calorimetry (DSC): a tool to study the thermal behavior of lipid bilayers and liposomal stability. J Liposome Res. 2008 Sep;18(3):159-73. doi: 10.1080/08982100802310261, PMID 18770070.

28. Correia AC, Moreira JN, Sousa Lobo JM, Silva AC. Design of experiment (DoE) as a quality by design (QbD) tool to optimise formulations of lipid nanoparticles for nose-to-brain drug delivery. Expert Opin Drug Deliv. 2023 Dec;20(12):1731-48. doi: 10.1080/17425247.2023.2274902, PMID 37905547.

29. Yu LX, Amidon G, Khan MA, Hoag SW, Polli J, Raju GK. Understanding pharmaceutical quality by design. AAPS J. 2014;16(4):771-83. doi: 10.1208/s12248-014-9598-3, PMID 24854893.

30. Gupta S, Kesarla R, Chotai N, Misra A, Omri A. Systematic approach for the formulation and optimization of solid lipid nanoparticles of efavirenz by high-pressure homogenization using design of experiments for brain targeting and enhanced bioavailability. BioMed Res Int. 2017 Jan;2017:5984014. doi: 10.1155/2017/5984014, PMID 28243600.

31. Shah B, Khunt D, Bhatt H, Misra M, Padh H. Application of quality by design approach for intranasal delivery of rivastigmine loaded solid lipid nanoparticles: effect on formulation and characterization parameters. Eur J Pharm Sci. 2015;78:54-66. doi: 10.1016/j.ejps.2015.07.002, PMID 26143262.

32. Pezeshki A, Zirak MB. Effect of surfactant concentration on the particle size stability and potential zeta of beta carotene nano lipid carrier. IJCMAS. 2015;4(9):924-32.

33. Reed GF, Lynn F, Meade BD. Use of coefficient of variation in assessing variability of quantitative assays. Clin Diagn Lab Immunol. 2002 Nov;9(6):1235-9. doi: 10.1128/CDLI.9.6.1235-1239.2002, PMID 12414755.

34. Yasir M, Sara UV, Chauhan I, Gaur PK, Singh AP, Puri D. Solid lipid nanoparticles for nose to brain delivery of donepezil: formulation optimization by box–behnken design in vitro and in vivo evaluation. Artif Cells Nanomed Biotechnol. 2017;46(8):1-14. doi: 10.1080/21691401.2017.1394872.

35. Kwak S. Are only p-values less than 0.05 significant? A p-value greater than 0.05 is also significant. J Lipid Atheroscler. 2023 May;12(2):89-95. doi: 10.12997/jla.2023.12.2.89, PMID 37265851.

36. Vakilinezhad MA, Tanha S, Montaseri H, Dinarvand R, Azadi A, Akbari Javar HA. Application of response surface method for preparation optimization and characterization of nicotinamide-loaded solid lipid nanoparticles. Adv Pharm Bull. 2018;8(2):245-56. doi: 10.15171/apb.2018.029, PMID 30023326.

37. Siddiqui A, Alayoubi A, El Malah Y, Nazzal S. Modeling the effect of sonication parameters on size and dispersion temperature of solid lipid nanoparticles (SLNs) by response surface methodology (RSM). Pharm Dev Technol. 2014 May;19(3):342-6. doi: 10.3109/10837450.2013.784336, PMID 23590412.

38. Hao J, Fang X, Zhou Y, Wang J, Guo F, Li F. Development and optimization of solid lipid nanoparticle formulation for ophthalmic delivery of chloramphenicol using a box-behnken design. Int J Nanomedicine. 2011;6:683-92. doi: 10.2147/IJN.S17386, PMID 21556343.

Published

07-01-2026

How to Cite

BHAVANI, C., & BALAJI, P. (2026). QUALITY BY DESIGN AND CHARACTERIZATION OF EDARAVONE SLN TO IMPROVE BRAIN DELIVERY BY NASAL ROUTE FOR THE TREATMENT OF ALZHEIMER’S DISEASE. International Journal of Applied Pharmaceutics, 18(1), 292–305. https://doi.org/10.22159/ijap.2026v18i1.55684

Issue

Section

Original Article(s)

Similar Articles

<< < 3 4 5 6 7 > >> 

You may also start an advanced similarity search for this article.