Development of Invasomal Encapsulated Antimicrobial Peptide Delivery of Bacitracin for Topical Application in Wound Healing

Wound infections are a major clinical concern that can delay the normal healing process and increase the risk of complications. Bacitracin is a peptide antibiotic widely used for topical management of superficial bacterial infections; however, its therapeutic effectiveness at the wound site may be limited by poor penetration into deeper skin layers, instability, and rapid removal from the application site. The present research was aimed at developing an invasomal delivery system for enhanced topical delivery of bacitracin for wound healing. Invasomes are flexible vesicular nanocarriers composed of phospholipids, ethanol, and selected penetration-enhancing terpenes, which provide improved deformability and facilitate penetration across the skin barrier. Bacitracin was encapsulated into invasomal vesicles using an appropriate vesicle preparation technique and the developed formulations were evaluated for vesicle characteristics, particle size, polydispersity index, zeta potential, entrapment efficiency, morphology, deformability, pH, drug content, and in vitro drug-release characteristics. The optimized invasomal formulation was further incorporated into a suitable topical gel base to improve skin residence time and ease of application. The formulation was evaluated for its physicochemical characteristics, drug release, skin permeation, antimicrobial activity, and wound-healing potential. The invasomal system is expected to enhance the deposition and penetration of bacitracin into the skin while providing controlled and prolonged drug release at the wound site. Thus, bacitrans-loaded invasomal gel may represent a promising topical delivery approach for improving the antimicrobial effectiveness of bacitracin and supporting efficient wound healing.