Formulation and clinical evaluation of niosomal methylene blue for successful treatment of acne

Photodynamic therapy (PDT) can be defined as the administration of a nontoxic drug or dye known as Photosensitizer (PS) either systemically, locally, or topically to a patient bearing a lesion. Methylene blue considered as a photosensitizer for photodynamic therapy. Current topical and oral therapies for acne vulgaris have limited efficacy, especially in moderate to severe cases, In view of this, the aim of our study was to use methylene blue in the form of niosomal hydrogel for photodynamic treatment of acne. To reach this objective we studied the following aspects; formulation of MB blue in different niosomal preparation, characterization of methylene blue niosomes, Span 60 transition temperatures, In vitro release study, kinetic analysis of the release data, factors affecting the encapsulation of methylene blue in niosomes via effect of: amount of drug, cholesterol: span 60 ratios, and stabilizers. The results revealed that, niosomes were successfully produced by reversed phase evaporation technique using different ratio of cholesterol: span 60.The most favorable amount of MB could be used in niosomal preparation was 1000µg. The best fit kinetic favored Higuchi diffusion mechanism. The incorporation of MB niosomes in HPMC 3% gel resulted in feasible release rate of MB. The data obtained served as the basis to reach a secondary objective which is clinical evaluation of selected niosomal gel of methylene blue for photodynamic treatment of acne which showed higher significant improvement in inflammation when compared with IPL treatment.