DESIGN AND DEVELOPMENT OF EMULSOMES WITH IMPROVED SKIN PERMEATION FOR THE TOPICAL TREATMENT OF RHEUMATOID ARTHRITIS

  • Unique Paper ID: 207239
  • Volume: 13
  • Issue: 3
  • PageNo: 74-81
  • Abstract:
  • Arthritis is main cause of disability in humankind in developed and developing countries. Among which rheumatoid arthritis and gouty arthritis are most prevalent ones. Immunosuppressants (Tacrolimus) and xanthine oxidase inhibitors (Febuxostat) are the choice of treatment for RA and gouty arthritis respectively. However, Tacrolimus and Febuxostat have several limitations of gastrointestinal related disturbances and low oral bioavailability due to first pass metabolism and low aqueous solubility. Thus, to improve bioavailability, transdermal drug delivery systems of Tacrolimus and Febuxostat were developed as their treatment options. Leflunomide, an isoxazole derivative and inhibitor of de novo pyrimidine synthesis, represents a new class of DMARDs. Leflunomide is an immunosuppressant medication used in the treatment of active rheumatoid arthritis (RA). Leflunomide prevents the expansion of activated autoimmune lymphocytes by inhibiting dihydroorotate dehydrogenase, an enzyme essential for fresh (de novo) synthesis of pyrimidine. Emulsome is an advance nanocarrier technology for poorly aqueous soluble drugs. It possesses both emulsion and liposomes feature Emulsomes offers an effective topical drug delivery system owing to its potential of high retention flux as well as high skin retention of drug and hence enhanced activity and reduce skin irritation. It involves the application of drug to the skin to obtain the desired therapeutic effect for the treatment of disease far from the site of application. Topical drug delivery renders accurate amount of drug from the skin to achieve systemic action. Its non- invasive nature is additional advantages which provide continuous drug delivery to skin similar to intravenous administration. The purpose of this study was to formulate and evaluate Leflunomide Emulsomes for the treatment of Rheumatoid Arthritis. Leflunomide, an isoxazole derivative and inhibitor of de novo pyrimidine synthesis, represents a new class of DMARDs. Leflunomide is an immunosuppressant medication used in the treatment of active rheumatoid arthritis (RA). RA is an autoimmune disease in which the body’s own immune system mistakenly attacks the joints, causing inflammation and damage to the joints. Leflunomide is a disease modifying antirheumatic drug (DMARD) that modulates the immune system to reduce inflammation and slow down disease progression. Leflunomide is a prodrug that is converted to its active metabolite A77 1726 (referred to as M1) in the body. The short half-life and high frequency of administration of Leflunomide makes it a suitable candidate for designing Topical drug delivery system. Topical Emulsomes prolong residence time of drugs, improve bioavailability, and facilitate drug delivery through systemic route. With this objective, Topical Emulsomes of Leflunomide as a model drug was prepared for the treatment of Rheumatoid Arthritis.

Copyright & License

Copyright © 2026 Authors retain the copyright of this article. This article is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

BibTeX

@article{207239,
        author = {Mohammad Sameer Ansari},
        title = {DESIGN AND DEVELOPMENT OF EMULSOMES WITH IMPROVED SKIN PERMEATION FOR THE TOPICAL TREATMENT OF RHEUMATOID ARTHRITIS},
        journal = {International Journal of Innovative Research in Technology},
        year = {2026},
        volume = {13},
        number = {3},
        pages = {74-81},
        issn = {2349-6002},
        url = {https://ijirt.org/article?manuscript=207239},
        abstract = {Arthritis is main cause of disability in humankind in developed and developing countries. Among which rheumatoid arthritis and gouty arthritis are most prevalent ones. Immunosuppressants (Tacrolimus) and xanthine oxidase inhibitors (Febuxostat) are the choice of treatment for RA and gouty arthritis respectively. However, Tacrolimus and Febuxostat have several limitations of gastrointestinal related disturbances and low oral bioavailability due to first pass metabolism and low aqueous solubility. Thus, to improve bioavailability, transdermal drug delivery systems of Tacrolimus and Febuxostat were developed as their treatment options. Leflunomide, an isoxazole derivative and inhibitor of de novo pyrimidine synthesis, represents a new class of DMARDs. Leflunomide is an immunosuppressant medication used in the treatment of active rheumatoid arthritis (RA). Leflunomide prevents the expansion of activated autoimmune lymphocytes by inhibiting dihydroorotate dehydrogenase, an enzyme essential for fresh (de novo) synthesis of pyrimidine.
Emulsome is an advance nanocarrier technology for poorly aqueous soluble drugs. It possesses both emulsion and liposomes feature Emulsomes offers an effective topical drug delivery system owing to its potential of high retention flux as well as high skin retention of drug and hence enhanced activity and reduce skin irritation.
It involves the application of drug to the skin to obtain the desired therapeutic effect for the treatment of disease far from the site of application. Topical drug delivery renders accurate amount of drug from the skin to achieve systemic action. Its non- invasive nature is additional advantages which provide continuous drug delivery to skin similar to intravenous administration. The purpose of this study was to formulate and evaluate Leflunomide Emulsomes for the treatment of Rheumatoid Arthritis. Leflunomide, an isoxazole derivative and inhibitor of de novo pyrimidine synthesis, represents a new class of DMARDs. Leflunomide is an immunosuppressant medication used in the treatment of active rheumatoid arthritis (RA). RA is an autoimmune disease in which the body’s own immune system mistakenly attacks the joints, causing inflammation and damage to the joints. Leflunomide is a disease modifying antirheumatic drug (DMARD) that modulates the immune system to reduce inflammation and slow down disease progression. Leflunomide is a prodrug that is converted to its active metabolite A77 1726 (referred to as M1) in the body. The short half-life and high frequency of administration of Leflunomide makes it a suitable candidate for designing Topical drug delivery system. Topical Emulsomes prolong residence time of drugs, improve bioavailability, and facilitate drug delivery through systemic route. With this objective, Topical Emulsomes of Leflunomide as a model drug was prepared for the treatment of Rheumatoid Arthritis.},
        keywords = {Emulsomes, Lecithin, Cholesterol, Rheumatoid Arthritis},
        month = {August},
        }

Cite This Article

Ansari, M. S. (2026). DESIGN AND DEVELOPMENT OF EMULSOMES WITH IMPROVED SKIN PERMEATION FOR THE TOPICAL TREATMENT OF RHEUMATOID ARTHRITIS. International Journal of Innovative Research in Technology (IJIRT), 13(3), 74–81.

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