Formulation and Evaluation of Clindamycin Phosphate and Methylglyoxal Co-Loaded Transfersomal Gel for Topical Antimicrobial Delivery

The present study developed and evaluated an egg yolk lecithin-based transfersomal gel co-loaded with clindamycin phosphate and methylglyoxal for topical antimicrobial delivery. Five transfersome formulations were prepared by thin-film hydration using Tween 80 as edge activator and citrate buffer as the hydration medium. The optimized formulation (F4) showed a particle size of 184 ± 5 nm, polydispersity index of 0.24 ± 0.01, zeta potential of −31.2 ± 0.9 mV, and entrapment efficiency of 87.9 ± 1.1% for clindamycin phosphate and 70.4 ± 1.3% for methylglyoxal. The formulation exhibited sustained release over 24 h and produced greater antimicrobial activity against Staphylococcus aureus and Cutibacterium acnes than single-drug transfersomes, free drug combination, and marketed clindamycin gel. The optimized dispersion was incorporated into an HPMC gel with acceptable pH, viscosity, spreadability, extrudability, and drug content uniformity. Short-term refrigerated stability was satisfactory. The study supports co-loaded transfersomal gel as a promising topical system for acne-associated antimicrobial therapy.