Honors Theses
Date of Award
Fall 12-10-2021
Document Type
Undergraduate Thesis
Department
Chemistry and Biochemistry
First Advisor
Eden Tanner
Second Advisor
Susan Pedigo
Third Advisor
Gerald Rowland
Relational Format
Dissertation/Thesis
Abstract
Atopic dermatitis, or eczema, is an inflammatory skin disease resulting in dry, red, and itchy skin that affects almost 20% of the population of the Western world. This disease creates a physical, emotional, as well as financial burden on those affected, as well as their families. Current treatment options are only somewhat effective, and do not have a long duration of release and therefore efficiency. Furthermore, treatment plans involving corticosteroids need to be closely regulated to monitor side effects such as skin thinning. Other options include topical tacrolimus, emollients, and oral antihistamines, each with varied side effects. This project is then aimed to correct this inconsistency, by creating a transdermal drug delivery method that utilizes a novel polymeric nanoparticle to encapsulate hydrocortisone. This will be achieved by first generating a Chitosan nanoparticle that is small enough to enter the layers of the skin, then solvating this nanoparticle in ionic liquid as a transdermal permeation enhancer, and administering it to skin. The end goal would be for the nanoparticle to embed under the skin and slowly degrade at a tuned rate, thus allowing for a sustained and supervised drug release of up to a week.
In pursuing this project, the target particle size for Chitosan nanoparticles was achieved, a modified PEG solution was created, and the two came together to produce a nanoparticle that could be solvated successfully in ionic liquid without aggregation. This compound was administered in an ex vivo pig skin model to test delivery efficiency, using Rhodamine dye in the nanoparticles themselves to track delivery efficacy. It was shown that the nanoparticles do reach the intended layers of the skin, and ionic liquid is needed for transdermal transport. Future investigation of this project will require a means of actually encapsulating hydrocortisone into the nanoparticles, and the development and use of in vivo diseased rat models.
Recommended Citation
Bell, Leslie, "Ionic Liquid-Solvated Chitosan Nanoparticles as a Novel Method of Treating Atopic Dermatitis" (2021). Honors Theses. 2472.
https://egrove.olemiss.edu/hon_thesis/2472
Accessibility Status
Searchable text
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.