Tuning lipid monolayer behavior with soluble surfactants: A pathway to enhanced ultradeformable drug carriers.
Dopierała Katarzyna K, Przybylska Alicja A, Kustrzyńska Karolina K, Michniak-Kohn Bożena B
Transferosomes are ultradeformable lipid vesicles used to enhance transdermal drug delivery. Their key component is the edge activator, which modulates membrane fluidity and deformability. In this study, we propose an integrated approach to evaluate the surfactants-Tween® 20, Tween® 60, Tween® 80 (Croda International), and sodium cholate (SC)-as edge activators in transferosomal formulations with 1,2-dioleoyl-3-trimethylammonium propane (DOTAP). Monolayer and bilayer investigations were combined to identify the most suitable surfactant. Among the investigated surfactants, SC exhibited the most favorable overall performance, leading to transferosomes with enhanced membrane fluidity and desirable viscoelastic properties. The results also revealed a strong influence of surfactant concentration on the interfacial behavior of the lipid bilayer, attributed to electrostatic interactions between SC and DOTAP. Atomic force microscopy confirmed increased vesicle deformability from 4.10 to 8.83 nm and reduced Young's modulus from 167.29 to 88.22 MPa for SC-containing systems compared to pure DOTAP. DLS measurements further demonstrated appropriate colloidal properties, with vesicle size of 216-345 nm. Within a simplified Quality by Design framework, SC emerged as the most promising edge activator, although adhesion-related parameters did not clearly indicate dominance of this formulation. Overall, the proposed integrated strategy provides a rational approach for the rational design of transferosomal formulations.