Enhanced Antimicrobial Activity of Silver Sulfadiazine Cosmetotherapeutic Nanolotion for Burn Infections

Burns are highly traumatizing injuries that can be complicated by various microbial infections, leading to morbidity and mortality. The ultimate goal of burn therapy is to prevent any microbial infection and rapid wound healing with epithelization. The current study aimed to develop and investigate the potential of nanoemulsion-based cosmetotherapeutic lotion of silver sulfadiazine (SSD) for increased antimicrobial activity to treat burn injuries. Silver sulfadiazine is the standard topical treatment for burn patients, but is allied with major limitations of poor solubility, low bioavailability, and other hematologic effects, hindering its pharmaceutical applications. The nanoformulation was fabricated through the ultrasonication technique and optimized by selecting various parameters and concentrations for the formation of water-in-oil (w/o) emulsion. The optimized formulation depicts a smaller particle size of 213 nm with an encapsulation efficiency of approx. 80%. Further, nanoemulsion-based SSD lotion by utilizing argan oil as a cosmetotherapeutic agent was prepared for scar massaging with improved permeation properties. The designed cosmeceutical formulation was characterized in terms of physical appearance, refractive index, particle size, encapsulation efficiency, and biocompatibility. The compatibility of the formulation ingredients were determined through FTIR (Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy). The formulated nanolotion containing SSD demonstrated superior antimicrobial activities against different bacterial strains in comparison to commercialized burn creams.