Abstract:In order to improve the stability of ethosomes, ceramide III (Cer3) was used to modify the ethosomes for the first time. The effect of Cer3 amount on the stability of ethosomes was investigated. Subsequently, retinyl palmitate (RP) was loaded into Cer3 ethosomes as a lipid-soluble active substance to investigate the stability, stabilization mechanism and in vitro release performance of RP-Cer3 ethosomes. The results showed that the best stability of Cer3 ethosomes was achieved at 1 mg/mL Cer3. When the RP content of RP-Cer3 ethosomes was 2 mg/mL, the particle size was (68.4±1.1) nm. The appearance and particle size insignificantly changed when stored at room temperature for 120 d. X-ray diffraction (XRD) and total reflection Fourier infrared (FTIR) indicated that RP was well encapsulated in the ethosomes, at the meanwhile, FTIR also indicated that there was hydrogen bond interaction between RP and the ethosomes. The results showed that the addition of Cer3 could reduce the fluidity of ethosomes and thus improve their stability, and RP-Cer3 ethosomes had better in vitro release performance.
