Nanocolloidal Carriers of Isotretinoin: Antimicrobial Activity against Propionibacterium acnes and Dermatokinetic Modeling

Acne, a common skin disease in teenagers, is caused by Propionibacterium acnes (P. acnes). Isotretinoin (ITR) is though reported to have immense antiacne potential, yet there are hardly any reports vouching its antimicrobial activity. The present study, therefore, was undertaken to study the antimicrobial activity of ITR and evaluate the effect of its encasement in nanocarriers on its minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC). The nanocarriers were also evaluated for the skin transport characteristics. MICs of pure drug and entrapped drug in nanolipid carriers (ITR-NLCs) and in solid lipid nanoparticles (ITR-SLNs) were determined by broth dilution method against clindamycin phosphate as the reference antibiotic. It was observed that ITR possessed marked antimicrobial activity against anaerobic pathogen, P. acnes. Nanocarriers loaded with ITR, that is, SLNs and NLCs, enhanced the antimicrobial activity even at lower concentrations vis-a-vis the drug alone and improved drug transport potential vis-a-vis the commercial gel The unique findings could be the result of effective adhesion of ITR-loaded nanocarriers to the bacterial membranes and release of drug directly to the target. Besides establishing ITR as an antimicrobial agent against acne-causing bacteria, the current work ratifies immense potential of nanocolloidal carriers like SLNs and NLCs to treat acne in a more efficient manner.