Preparation and characterization of different sizes of ethosomes encapsulated with 5-fluorouracil and its experimental study of permeability in hypertrophic scar.

With the aim of investigating scar penetration efficiency of different sizes of ethosomes encapsulated with Fluorouracil, three kinds of ethosomes with different sizes were prepared by extruding the vesicles through polycarbonate membrane filters, their encapsulation efficiency of Fluorouracil (5-FU) were investigated by dialysis method, their scar-penetration efficiencies were analyzed by filling Rodanmin 6GO into ethosomes and using confocal laser scanning microscopy (CLSM). The prepared ethosomes were 216 +/- 19 nm, 107 +/- 13 nm, and 65 +/- 10 nm in diameter respectively, and exhibited good dispersibility. Their encapsulation efficiency of 5-FU were 12%, 34%, and 41%, respectively. The results indicated that the 5-FU penetration was reversely related to the size of the size of the ethosomes. The ethosomes of 65 nm in diameter exhibited maximal fluorescence penetration efficiency which could reach the deep layer of dermis of hypertrophic scar. In conclusion, three different sizes of 5-FU ethosomes were prepared successfully, the ethosomes of 65 nm in diameter with 5-FU can penetrate scar high efficiently, which has potential in application such as anti-scar drug carriers in scar therapy in near future.