Development of niacinamide loaded elastic liposome as a potential transepidermal delivery system

Niacinamide (NA), one of the most frequently utilized materials in cosmeceutical areas, possesses a drawback in its ability to penetrate the skin layers. To overcome this, the present study developed and characterized novel NA-loaded elastic liposomes (EL) to enhance the NA transepidermal penetration. The EL were prepared by reverse phase evaporation technique with different NA content of 100, 150, and 200 mg. The developed NA-loaded EL demonstrated mean sizes of ~300 nm, polydispersity indexes of 0.2–0.3, zeta potentials of ~-20 mV, and moderate entrapment efficiencies of up to 40%. The liposome formation was confirmed by a Maltese cross-like structure, observed under polarized light microscopy, with a high elasticity property. Interestingly, the NA-loaded EL showed 100 times greater in-vitro permeation-enhancing effect than the NA cream counterpart. Conclusively, the novel NA-loaded EL have much potential in the transepidermal delivery of hydrophilic molecules, such as NA, across the skin.