Thesis title: NANOEMULSIONS: FORMULATION, CHARACTERIZATION, AND PROMISING APPLICATIONS
The aim of the work described in this thesis was to highlight the interesting physico-chemical characteristics of Nanoemulsions (NEs) and their wide application as innovative delivery systems for pharmaceutical, cosmetic and food industry.
In particular, NEs showed to be a potential and effective intranasal, ocular, dermal/transdermal and antimicrobial drug delivery systems. The selected surfactants were: Tween 80, Tween20 and Span 20, non-ionic surfactants characterized by HLB value of 15, 16.7 and 8.6, respectively. Concerning the dispersed phase, essential oils obtained by extraction from different plants (White Thyme, Cloves), oils of commercial origin such as Neem and Almond oil and finally Carvacrol, phenolic monoterpene present in various essential oils were used. Additional components in the formulation of NEs were Chitosan, a hydrophilic, biodegradable, biocompatible polymer with positive surface charge and mucoadhesive properties and VHS and PS9 clays as thickeners. All tested formulations were deeply characterized in order to observe their stability over time or following the contact with some simulated biological fluids, mucoadhesive properties, morphology, release kinetics and in vitro/vivo biocompatibility. The results of these studies have been collected in 2 published papers: Antimicrobial Essential Oil Formulation: Chitosan coated Nanoemulsions for Nose to Brain Delivery (Rinaldi, F.; Oliva, A.; Sabatino, M.; Imbriano, A.; Hanieh, P.N.; Garzoli, S.; Mastroianni, C.M.; De Angelis, M.; Miele, M.C.; Arnaut, M.; Di Timoteo, F.; Marianecci, C.; Ragno, R.; Carafa, M. Pharmaceutics 2020, 12, 678.); Satureja montana L. Essential Oils: Chemical Profiles/Phytochemical Screening, Antimicrobial Activity and O/W NanoEmulsion Formulations (Maccelli, A.; Vitanza, L.; Imbriano, A.; Fraschetti, C.; Filippi, A.; Goldoni, P.; Maurizi, L.; Ammendolia, M.G.; Crestoni, M.E.; Fornarini, S.; Menghini, L.; Carafa, M.; Marianecci, C.; Longhi, C.; Rinaldi, F. Pharmaceutics 2020, 12, 7). Two other manuscript are in preparation: Almond oil O/W Nanoemulsions: potential application for ocular drug delivery, Design and Characterization of Hybrid-Multistratified Nanoemulsions for Wound Healing.