Repurposed Aripiprazole-Loaded Hyaluronic Acid/Ceramide/Terpene Nanosponge as a Bioadhesive Topical Delivery System for Cutaneous Candida albicans Infection

Objectives: The present study was designed to repurpose aripiprazole (AR) as an antifungal drug for the management of topical candidiasis using a bioadhesive sponge incorporating a hyaluronic acid (HA)-, ceramide-, and terpene-based vesicular nanosystem (HCT-NS). Methods: AR-loaded HCT-NS were formulated by the modified ethanol injection method with varying amounts of HA, ceramide, and two types of terpenes. The formulation optimization of AR-loaded HCT-NS was carried out by a full factorial design. The responses evaluated were zeta potential (ZP), particle size (PS), and entrapment efficiency (EE). Results: The optimized AR-loaded HCT-NS has 5 mg of HA, 10 mg of ceramide, and fenchone, which showed spherical vesicles with EE of 81.21 ± 0.01%, PS of 223.25 ± 11.25 nm, polydispersity index (PDI) of 0.492 ± 0.003, and ZP of −27.74 ± 0.04 mV. The optimum HCT-NS showed a greater drug release in comparison to the AR suspension. In addition, the selected HCT-NS exhibited good bioadhesive characteristics and stayed stable during storage. Confocal laser scanning microscopy confirmed the penetration of the fluorescently optimized HCT-NS via the skin. Further, the scanning electron microscope image indicates the porous structure of the formed sponge. In vivo evaluations for the optimum HCT-NS sponge showed a good antifungal impact against Candida albicans. The safety of topical treatment was confirmed by histopathological examination. Conclusions: Taken together, the results here suggest that the AR-loaded HCT-NS sponge showed potent antifungal activity against Candida albicans fungal infection.