Nanodesign of new self-assembling core-shell gellan-transfersomes loading baicalin and in vivo evaluation of repair response in skin

Gellan nanohydrogel and phospholipid vesicles were combined to incorporate baicalin in new self-assembling core-shell gellantransfersomes obtained by an easy, scalable method. The vesicles were small in size (similar to 107 nm) and monodispersed (P.I. <= 0.24), forming a viscous system (similar to 24 mPa/s) as compared to transfersomes (similar to 1.6 mPa/s), as confirmed by rheological studies. Gellan was anchored to the bilayer domains through cholesterol, and the polymer chains were distributed onto the outer surface of the bilayer, thus forming a core-shell structure, as suggested by SAXS analyses. The optimal carrier ability of core-shell gellan-transfersomes was established by the high deposition of baicalin in the skin (similar to 11% in the whole skin), especially in the deeper tissue (similar to 8% in the dermis). Moreover, their ability to improve baicalin efficacy in anti-inflammatory and skin repair tests was confirmed in vivo in mice, providing the complete skin restoration and inhibiting all the studied inflammatory markers.