Preparation and characterization of Esculetin loaded nanostructured lipid carriers gels for topical treatment of UV-induced psoriasis

As an inflammatory and autoimmune skin condition, psoriasis affects 2-3% of people worldwide. Psoriasis requires prolonged treatments with immunosuppressive medications which have severe adverse effects. Esculetin (Esc) is a natural medication that has been utilized for the treatment of psoriasis. The goal of this work is to improve Esc's solubility by developing novel Esc nanostructured lipid carriers (NLCs) for treating psoriasis and increase the residence time on skin which infer better skin absorption The particle size, zeta potential, and entrapment efficiency (EE) of Esc NLCs were assessed. Incorporating NLCs into gum Arabic gel preparation enhances their industrial applicability, absorption, and residence time on skin. Esc NLCs gels were evaluated by in vitro release and in vivo effectiveness on a rat model of UV-induced psoriasis. Esc NLCs showed high EE reaching more that 95% and reasonable particle size ranging between (53.86 ± 0.38 to 236.3 ± 0.11nm) and were spherical in shape. The release study of Esc NLCs gel demonstrated a fast release of Esc denoting enhanced bioavailability. In comparison to free Esc, Esc NLCs gel (F2) could considerably lower the level of CD34 and TNF-α in the skin. The results were validated through histopathological analysis. As Esc NLCs gel (F2) has strong anti-inflammatory properties, our results showed that it presented a significant potential for healing psoriasis.