Benzyl benzoate (BB) is one of the oldest drugs used for the treatment of
scabies and is recommended as the "first-line intervention" for the cost-effective treatment of the disease. Though a promising candidate, its application is reported to be associated with irritation of the skin and eye, resulting in poor patient compliance. Hence, the present study aims to develop BB-loaded topical microemulsion for the safer and effective delivery of BB. Pseudo-ternary phase diagrams with BB as the oily phase itself, along with
Tween 80 as
surfactant, and mixture of
phospholipid and
ethanol as the co-
surfactant along with aqueous
solution as the external phase were constructed and various compositions were formulated. The optimized formulation was characterized for particle-size, zeta-potential,
drug-content, globule-morphology pH, and refractive-index, whereas evaluated for skin permeation, retention, compliance, and dermatokinetics. The nanosized formulation offered threefold higher
drug permeation vis-a-vis plain
drug solution across LACA mice abdominal skin. The
drug retention of the selected formulation was nearly twice of that from the marketed product, assuring depot formulation and sustained release. The skin histopathology revealed the non-
irritant nature of the formulation, as no changes in the normal skin histology were observed. The dermatokinetic studies confirmed better permeation and enhanced skin bioavailability of BB to epidermis as well as dermis vis-à-vis the conventional product. The results indicate that the developed
lipid-based microemulsion
hydrogel can alleviate the concerns associated with BB and can provide a better and safer delivery option in substantial amounts to various skin layers.