November-December 2018 Indian Journal of Pharmaceutical Sciences 1057 Research Paper advantages including ease of production, improvement of drug solubility and oral bioavailability. SNEDDS are preconcentrates composed of isotropic mixtures of oils, surfactants and co-surfactants, which spontaneously form fne oil in water (o/w) emulsion in situ upon contact through aqueous medium with a globule size in the range of 20-200 nm [4] . Various other potential features of SNEDDS in improving oral bioavailability of lipophilic drugs consists of simplifying transcellular and paracellular absorption, decreasing cytochrome-P450 metabolism in the gut enterocytes, stimulating lymphatic transport via Peyer’s patches and protecting drug from hepatic frst pass metabolism [5] . The major drawbacks of liquid- More than 127 million people are infested by lymphatic flariasis, a mosquito-borne disease and about 1.2 billion people are at risk of the disease in 70 countries. It is most common in Africa and Asia. Lymphatic flariasis is caused by parasites, Wuchereria bancrofti, Brugia malayi and Bruga timori. These infest the lymph channels and disrupt the fow of the lymph leading to lymph oedema [1] . The chronic phase is marked by lymph varices (dilation of vessels), lymph scrotum, hydrocele, chyluria and elephantiasis [2] . Another form of systemic infestation is caused by the larva form of Necator americanus, which penetrates human skin and travels through the blood vessels to reach the pulmonary alveoli and travels up the trachea. Once it enters in lymph nodes, the larvae starts entering the blood, lungs and intestines. The therapy for these and other similar conditions comprises benzimidazoles, specifcally albendazole and pyrantel pamoate [3] . Self-nanoemulsifying drug delivery system (SNEDDS) is a novel drug delivery system with numerous Self-nanoemulsifying Drug Delivery System of Mebendazole for Treatment of Lymphatic Filariasis MONICA R. P. RAO*, SNEHA P. RAUT, C. T. SHIRSATH, MONALI B. JADHAV, AND PRANOTI A. CHANDANSHIVE Department of Pharmaceutics, AISSMS College of Pharmacy, Pune-411001, India Rao et al.: Self-nanoemulsifying Drug Delivery System of Mebendazole Lipid-based self-nanoemulsifying drug delivery system was explored to improve the oral bioavailability and target specifcity of mebendazole for treatment of lymphatic worm infestations. Ternary phase diagrams were constructed to select suitable oil-surfactant mixture. Liquid self-nanoemulsifying drug delivery system consisting of Capmul MCM L8, Chromophore RH40 and tocopherol polyethylene glycol succinates a pre- concentrate was systematically optimized using 32 full factorial designs. β-cyclodextrin-based nanosponges were used to prepare solid self-nanoemulsifying drug delivery system. Characterization of liquid self- nanoemulsifying drug delivery system was carried out using percent transmission, globule size, zeta potential, polydispersity index and drug content. Globule size in the range of 50-90 nm and zeta potential of –5 to –12 mV was obtained, which co-related well with percent transmission. Powder X-ray diffraction, differential scanning calorimetry and scanning electron microscope of solid self-nanoemulsifying drug delivery system indicated the presence of mebendazole as a molecular dispersion. Ex vivo studies showed nearly fve-fold increase in the fux. In vivo studies showed two-fold increase in bioavailability. Signifcant enhancement in drug dissolution and saturation solubility from solid self-nanoemulsifying drug delivery system resulted in an increase in the bioavailability. Besides this, greater surface area, improved release, P-gp modulation potential of excipients and lymphatic bypass via Peyer’s patches protected drug from hepatic frst pass metabolism all of which would contribute to the observed improved bioavailability. Lymphatic transport of drug could achieve target specifcity in lymphatic flariasis. Key words: Mebendazole, Capmul MCM L8, TPGS, Cremophor RH40, β-CD nanosponge *Address for correspondence E-mail: monicarp_6@hotmail.com This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 License, which allows others to remix, tweak, and build upon the work non-commercially, as long as the author is credited and the new creations are licensed under the identical terms Accepted 30 September 2018 Revised 29 March 2018 Received 27 June 2017 Indian J Pharm Sci 2018;80(6):1057-1068