Dermal delivery of bioactive molecules remains an attractive route of administration in
osteoarthritis (OA) due to the local accumulation of drugs while avoiding their systemic side effects. In this study we propose a proniosome gel comprising non-ionic
surfactants that self-assemble into de-hydrated vesicles for the delivery of the natural anti-inflammatory compound
berberine. By modulating the hydrating ability of the proniosome gel,
berberine can be efficiently released with minimal mechanical force. A combination of
sorbitan oleate (S80) and polyethlene glycol
sorbitan monolaurate (T20) in a sorbitan
stearate (S60)-based proniosome enables a readily hydrated gel to deliver
berberine into the skin, as confirmed by ex vivo skin permeation studies. Concurrently, an in vitro model of OA using primary mouse chondrocytes demonstrated that the release of
berberine at a concentration as low as 1 μg mL-1 is sufficient to restore the production of sulphated
glycosaminoglycans (sGAG) to levels comparable to healthy chondrocytes while avoiding the cytotoxic concentrations (IC50 = 33 μg mL-1) on skin keratinocytes. In a mouse model of OA, the optimized formulation is able to attenuate
inflammation and
pain and minimize cartilage degeneration. Taken together, these data demonstrate the feasibility of adopting proniosome
gels as a suitable platform to deliver active molecules for the management of
osteoarthritis.