Characterization and In Vitro Skin Permeation of Meloxicam-Loaded Liposomes versus Transfersomes

The goal of this study was to develop and evaluate the potential use of liposome and transfersome vesicles in the transdermal drug delivery of meloxicam (MX). MX-loaded vesicles were prepared and evaluated for particle size, zeta potential, entrapment efficiency (%EE), loading efficiency, stability, and in vitro skin permeation. The vesicles were spherical in structure, 90 to 140 nm in size, and negatively charged (-23 to -43 mV). The %EE of MX in the vesicles ranged from 40 to 70%. Transfersomes provided a significantly higher skin permeation of MX compared to liposomes. Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FT-IR) and Differential Scanning Calorimetry (DSC) analysis indicated that the application of transfersomes significantly disrupted the stratum corneum lipid. Our research suggests that MX-loaded transfersomes can be potentially used as a transdermal drug delivery system.