ORIGINAL RESEARCH article
Front. Pharmacol.
Sec. Ethnopharmacology
Harnessing Natural Terpenes via PEGylated Mucoadhesive Vesicles for Improved Urinary Bladder Delivery: From In Vitro Evaluation to In Vivo Assessment
Provisionally accepted
hayder hammodi1
Rofida Albash2*Mohammed I. A. Hamed3
Khaled Mohamed Darwish4Amira B kassem5
Asmaa Saleh6
Jawaher Alamoudi6
Noha M. Badawi7- 1Mazaya University College, Nasiriyah, Iraq
- 2Misr University for Science and Technology, 6th of October City, Egypt
- 3Fayoum University, Faiyum, Egypt
- 4Suez Canal University, Ismailia, Egypt
- 5Damanhour University, Damanhour, Egypt
- 6Princess Nourah bint Abdulrahman University, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
- 7The British University in Egypt, El Shorouk City, Egypt
Select one of your emails
You have multiple emails registered with Frontiers:
Notify me on publication
Please enter your email address:
If you already have an account, please login
You don't have a Frontiers account ? You can register here
Abstract Background: Fenticonazole nitrate (FTN)–loaded chitosan-coated PEGylated terpesomes were investigated as a mucoadhesive formulation to enhance drug delivery to the urinary bladder. Methods: The design of fenticonazole nitrate–loaded terpesome (FTN-TP) formulations was carried out using a 3¹.2¹ factorial design. The vesicles were evaluated for entrapment efficiency (EE%), particle size (PS), polydispersity index (PDI), and zeta potential (ZP). The selected FTN-TPs were further mixed with Gelucire® 44/14 as a PEG source and coated with chitosan to obtain the optimized chitosan-coated PEGylated terpesomes (CCPTs), which were then subjected to additional characterization. Results: The optimized CCPTs exhibited increased entrapment efficiency and zeta potential values without a significant increase in particle size or polydispersity index. They also demonstrated good mucoadhesive properties and remained stable for up to 90 days. Confocal laser scanning microscopy authorized the penetration of the fluorescently optimized CCPTs through the urinary bladder wall. In-silico studies indicated good stability of FTN when combined with other components in the optimized CCPTs. Moreover, in vivo evaluation revealed a significantly greater antifungal effect in rats treated with the optimized CCPTs compared to those receiving the FTN suspension. Histopathological examination further confirmed the safety of the optimum formulation for urinary bladder administration. Conclusion: The optimum formulation could serve as an effective alternative carrier for urinary bladder delivery of fenticonazole nitrate, prolonging its residence time and thereby enhancing its therapeutic pharmacological effect.
Keywords: Intravesical delivery, Fenticozaole nitrate, terpesomes, Chitosan, Gelucire, confocal laser scanning microscopy, Histopathological study
Received: 15 Aug 2025; Accepted: 18 Nov 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 hammodi, Albash, Hamed, Darwish, kassem, Saleh, Alamoudi and Badawi. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence: Rofida Albash, rofida.albash@must.edu.eg
Disclaimer: All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.