DESIGN AND CHARACTERISATION OF ANIONIC SURFACTANT SPAN 20 NIOSOMES CONTAINING RIFAMPICIN

Niosomes are novel drug delivery vesicles composed of non-ionic surfactant bilayers with their size lies in the nanometric scale [10]. Niosomes are developed on the addition of cholesterol and non-ionic surfactant of the alkyl or dialkylpolyglycerol ether class upon hydration in aqueous media [1]. Vesicles may be unilamellar or multilamellar depends on the method of preparation [2]. The niosome is made of a surfactant bilayer with its hydrophilic ends exposed on the outside and inside of the vesicle while the hydrophobic chains face each other within the bilayer [3]. Hence, the vesicle holds hydrophilic drugs within the space enclosed in the vesicle while the hydrophobic drugs are embedded within the bilayer itself. As the niosomes are chemically, it stable can be stored for longer periods. The application of niosomal technology is widely varied and can be used to treat a number of diseases. Localization of drugs encapsulated in niosomes is utilized to treat tumors of liver and spleen, parasitic infection of the liver and antibodies to specific organs [4]. Niosomes can also be utilized for targeting drugs to organs other than RES.