Partial Least Square Analysis and Mixture Design for the Study of the Influence of Composition Variables on Nanoemulsions as Drug Carriers

Nanoemulsion formulation, consisting of isopropyl myristate, Tween 80 and Transcutol P, was optimized employing chemometric techniques to emphasis the role of formulation component on the droplet size and cumulative permeation of Boswellic acids (BA). Simplex lattice design was used to optimize the percentage composition of nanoemulsion. Permeation of boswellic acids (lipophilic in nature) was examined through a hydrophilic dialysis membrane. The droplet size and cumulative drug permeability were modeled as a function of mixture composition by partial least square (PLS) regression analysis. Excel STAT (XL Stat) software was used to perform PLS. The calculated models showed good predictive ability. The results emphasized the role oil and co-surfactants on the drug permeation behavior of active herbal drug from nanoemulsions. It was observed that PLS technique can be used for prediction of droplet sizes for given proportion of materials. The current study revealed that statistical tools could be used as useful tools to optimize the characteristics of nanoemulsions.