International Journal of Nano Studies & Technology, 2013 © 17 Alam S, Mittal S, Mittal A, Sharma K.(2013). Proniosomes as a Drug Carrier for Transdermal Delivery of Candesartan Cilexetil. Int J Nano Stud Technol, 02(02), 17-22. International Journal of Nano Studies & Technology (IJNST) ISSN 2167-8685 Proniosomes as a Drug Carrier for Transdermal Delivery of Candesartan Cilexetil Research Article Alam S 1*, Mittal S 2 , Mittal A, Sharma K 1 Department of Pharmaceutics, KIET School of Pharmacy, Ghaziabad, U.P, India 2 Research Scholar, Department of Pharmaceutics KIET School of Pharmacy, Ghaziabad. 3 Professor, Department of Pharmaceutics KIET School of Pharmacy, Ghaziabad. 4 Assistant Professor, Department of Pharmaceutics KIET School of Pharmacy, Ghaziabad. *Corresponding Author: Sanjar Alam Department of Pharmaceutics, KIET School of Pharmacy, Ghaziabad, U.P, India Tel: +91- 9891674226 E-mail: sanjaralam10@gmail.com Received: May 08,2013 Accepted: June 22, 2013 Published: June 26, 2013 Citation: Alam S, Mittal S, Mittal A, Sharma K.(2013). Proniosomes as a Drug Carrier for Transdermal Delivery of Candesartan Cilexetil. Int J Nano Stud Technol, 02(02), 17-22. Copyright: Alam S © 2013. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited. Introduction Transdermal delivery of drugs through the skin to the systemic circulation provides convenient route of administration for a va- riety of clinical indications. For transdermal delivery of drugs, stratum corneum is the main barrier layer for permeation of drug. Hence to increase the lux through skin membrane, differ- ent approaches of penetration enhancement are used [Hemant etal., 2012]. The main aim of novel drug delivery is to maintain the constant and effective drug level in the body with simulta- neous minimization of side effects. Novel drug delivery system also localizes the drug action by placing control release system adjacent to diseased tissue or organ; or target the drug delivery by using drug carriers. At present, not a single drug delivery sys- tem fulills all the criteria but, attempts have been made through novel approaches. Today, numbers of novel approaches have emerged covering various routes of administration, to achieve ei- ther controlled or targeted delivery. Vesicular drug delivery is one of the approaches which encapsulates the drug eg. Liposomes, niosomes, transferosomes, pharmacosomes, and provesicles like proliposomes and proniosomes. [Pradnya etal., 2012]. Proniosomes are dry formulations of water-soluble carrier par- ticles that are coated with surfactant and hydrated by agitation in hot water for a short period of time, offer a versatile vesicle delivery concept with the potential for drug delivery via the trans- dermal route . This would be possible if proniosomes form ni- osomes following topical application under occlusive conditions, due to hydration by water from the skin itself. The aim of this study is to investigate the feasibility of using proniosomes as a transdermal drug delivery system for Candesartan Cilexetil [Ibra- him etal., 2005]. Vesicles prepared were characterized by optical, scanning and transmission microscopy for vesicle formation and morphology. Drug encapsulation eficiency and release studies were carried out. Finally, a stability study of proniosomal formu- lations was also performed to investigate the leaking of the drug during storage [ Rishu etal., 2011]. Materials And Methods Candesartan Cilexetil was obtained as a gift sample from Ran- baxy Research & Development Centre, Gurgaon, India, Span 20, 40, 60, 65 & 80 was procured from Central Drug House, Abstract Candesartan Cilexetil is an angiotensin II receptor antagonist widely used in the treatment of hypertension and characterized by its good ef- icacy and less side effects compared to other angiotensin II receptor antagonist. The aim of the study was to develop a proniosomal carrier system for Candesartan Cilexetil for the treatment of hypertension that is capable of eficiently delivering entrapped drug over an extended period of time. In the present study transdermal Candesartan Cilexetil proniosomal gels was formulated by using Lecithin, Cholesterol as encapsulating agents, Surfactant, Span and permeation enhancers by coacervation phase separation method. The prepared systems were characterized for pH determination, Viscosity, Vesicle size analysis, rate of spontaneity, encapsulation eficiency, in vitro release study and ex- vivo skin permeation study, skin irritation study and stability study. It was observed that the gel formulations showed good spreadability and viscosity. The particle size was found to be in the range of 175.0- 277.7 nm. The proniosomes showed spherical and homogenous structure in optical microscopy. All formulations showed zero order drug release by diffusion mechanism. The stability studies showed that proniosomal gels were stable at 4 to 8 o C and 25±2 o C. The above results indicated that the proniosomal gel could be formulated for controlled release of Candesartan Cilexetil. The proniosomal gel are suitable for Candesartan Cilexetil once a day controlled release formula- tion. The investigated Candesartan cilexetil loaded proniosomal formula proved to be non-irritant, with signiicantly higher antihypertensive effects and reasonably good stability characteristics. Key Words: Proniosomes; Coacervation-Phase Separation; Cholesterol; Lecithin; Controlled Release.