Effect of hydrophilicity surfactants toward characterization and in vitro transfersomes penetration in gels using Franz diffusion test

Objective: Capsaicin is a bioactive compound with poor solubility in water. Transfersomes can increase the solubility and thus the penetration of capsaicin into the epidermis. Transfersomes also offer the advantage of being ultradeformable vesicles that are made using the thin layer hydration method. The aim of this study is to determine the effect of the hydrophilicity of surfactants on the characterization and in vitro penetrative ability of capsaicin transfersomes in gels using non-ionic surfactants with different hydrophile-lipophile balances, namely, Span 80, Tween 80, and a mixture of Span 80, and Tween 80. Methods: The best characterization result for transfersomes is the formula using Tween 80. The total cumulative amount of capsaicin penetrated from the transfersome gel using Tween 80 is 1663.89±1.58 μg/cm², the percentage is 57.96±0.05%, and the flux is 166.38±0.15 µg/cm².hr⁻¹. Results: In terms of the transfersome gel using a mixture of Span 80 and Tween 80, the cumulative amount of capsaicin penetrated is 1539.8±21.23 µg/cm², the percentage is 54.47±0.75%, and the flux is 153.98±2.12 µg/cm².hr⁻¹. Finally, from the transfersome gel using Span 80, the cumulative amount of capsaicin penetrated is 1395.10±7.23 mg/cm², the percentage is 50.80±0.26%, and the flux is 139.51±0.72 mg/cm².hr⁻¹. Conclusions: The best characteristics resulted from the transfersome formulation using Tween 80, which demonstrated the highest entrapment efficiency calculation result, the smallest particle size, the best deformability index, and the highest penetration when compared to the other two formulations.