Journal
MOLECULES
Volume 26, Issue 13, Pages -Publisher
MDPI
DOI: 10.3390/molecules26133863
Keywords
thymoquinone; black seed oil; ultrasonication; nanoemulgel; skin penetrability; silver sulfadiazine; wound healing
Funding
- Deanship of Scientific Research at Najran University [NU/MID/17/083]
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Thymoquinone, a natural bioactive substance with therapeutic activity against multiple ailments, was incorporated into a nanoemulsion-based hydrogel system to enhance its topical efficacy in wound healing. The use of black seed oil improved the drug loading capacity and reduced oil droplet size, resulting in enhanced skin penetrability and deposition characteristics after topical administration. The nanoemulgel system demonstrated quicker and early healing in wounded rats compared to conventional hydrogel systems, showing comparable efficacy with marketed cream containing silver sulfadiazine.
Thymoquinone is a natural bioactive with significant therapeutic activity against multiple ailments including wound healing. The poor aqueous solubility and low skin permeability limit its therapeutic efficacy. The present investigation aimed to improve the biopharmaceutical attributes of thymoquinone to enhance its topical efficacy in wound healing. A nanoemulsion-based hydrogel system was designed and characterized as a nanotechnology-mediated drug delivery approach to improve the therapeutic efficacy of thymoquinone, utilizing a high-energy emulsification technique. The black seed oil, as a natural home of thymoquinone, was utilized to improve the drug loading capacity of the developed nanoemulsion system and reduced the oil droplet size to <100 nm through ultrasonication. The influence of formulation composition, and the ultrasonication process conditions, were investigated on the mean globule size and polydispersity index of the generated nanoemulsion. Irrespective of surfactant/co-surfactant ratio and % concentration of surfactant/co-surfactant mixture, the ultrasonication time had a significant (p < 0.05) influence on the mean droplet size and polydispersity index of the generated nanoemulsion. The developed nanoemulgel system of thymoquinone demonstrated the pseudoplastic behavior with thixotropic properties, and this behavior is desirable for topical application. The nanoemulgel system of thymoquinone exhibited significant enhancement (p < 0.05) in skin penetrability and deposition characteristics after topical administration compared to the conventional hydrogel system. The developed nanoemulgel system of thymoquinone exhibited quicker and early healing in wounded Wistar rats compared to the conventional hydrogel of thymoquinone, while showing comparable healing efficacy with respect to marketed silver sulfadiazine (1%) cream. Furthermore, histopathology analysis of animals treated with a developed formulation system demonstrated the formation of the thick epidermal layer, papillary dermis along with the presence of extensive and organized collagen fibers in newly healed tissues. The outcome of this investigation signifies that topical delivery of thymoquinone through nanoemulgel system is a promising candidate which accelerates the process of wound healing in preclinical study.
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