Abstract

Niosomes and liposomes are one of the most widely used novel drug delivery systems. These carriers are tiny vesicles composed primarily of phospholipid molecules with an active surface. The essential oil of Trachyspermum copticum (Ajwain spice, also called caraway seeds or carrom seeds or Ajowan or Bishop’s Weed) is an effective antimicrobial agent against a wide range of bacteria. However, its use in the form of a solution is limited due to hazardous side effects. When the niosomal or liposomal form is used, the drug retains its properties against bacteria. The chemical and physical properties of liposome and niosome (size, lipid composition and lipid dose) play important roles in determining the drug retention. In this study, the effect of changes in drug/lipid ratio and lipid composition (phospholipid/cholesterol ratio) on feed efficiency of Ajwain essential oil was investigated. The carriers were manufactured using the thin film method and converted to 100 nm nanoniosomes and nanoliposomes by ultrasonic bath. Eventually, nanocapsules were produced by various concentrations of drug and lipid. After analysis of the results, an optimal formulation containing span 60/cholesterol/soy phosphatidylcholine/1,2-distearoyl-sn-glycero-3-phosphoethanolamine-N-amino(poly(ethylene glycol)) was chosen for producing nanocapsules with 85% loading efficiency. The minimum inhibitory concentration 90% (MIC90) of the Ajwain essential oil was 0.05 and 0.08 µg/mL for Escherichia coli and Staphylococcus aureus, respectively. The MTT test showed that its toxicity for human skin fibroblasts is very low, quite similar to the control group. The intracellular transfection was also good. © 2018, The National Academy of Sciences, India.