Formulation and Evaluation of -Lopinavir Loaded Lipid Nanoparticles in Herbal Hydrogel for Sustained Antiviral Delivery

Abstract

The present study aimed to formulate and evaluate Lopinavir-loaded solid lipid nanoparticles (SLNs) incorporated into a herbal hydrogel for sustained drug delivery. Lopinavir is an antiretroviral drug used in the treatment of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection. Its poor aqueous solubility presents a challenge for drug delivery. In this study, solid lipid nanoparticles were prepared using glyceryl behenate, glyceryl monostearate and Poloxamer 188 by hot homogenization followed by ultrasonication. The prepared nanoparticles were evaluated for particle size, polydispersity index, zeta potential, entrapment efficiency and drug loading. The optimized formulation, F6, showed a particle size of 142.6 nm, a polydispersity index of 0.218 and a zeta potential of −32.8 mV. Its entrapment efficiency and drug loading were 92.4% and 8.75%, respectively. The optimized nanoparticles were incorporated into a Carbopol 934-based herbal hydrogel containing Aloe vera gel. The optimized hydrogel exhibited a pH of 6.18, viscosity of 18,240 cP, spreadability of 25.3 g·cm/sec, drug content of 98.8% and extrudability of 475 g. In the invitro drug release study, formulation F6 showed 96.4% cumulative drug release over 12 hours, as reported in the study. The release profile fitted the Higuchi model, with an R² value of 0.989. The three-month stability study showed no significant changes in the evaluated formulation parameters under the tested conditions. The findings indicate that the developed SLN-loaded herbal hydrogel has promising formulation characteristics and sustained invitro drug release. Further studies are required to establish its safety, skin penetration and therapeutic effectiveness.