Determination of Fusidic Acid Concentration by First-Derivative Ultraviolet Spectrophotometry to Calculate Loading Capacity and Encapsulation Efficiency in a Wound Healing Formulation Using Zein Nanoparticles Loaded with Fusidic Acid

DOAA A. HABIBB, Ph.D.* And ESMAIL M. EL-FAKHARANY, Ph.D.*,***, WALID G. MAREY, BSc.*,**; HAIDY ABBAS, Ph.D.**; SOHA M. EL-MASRY, Ph.D.**;

doi:10.21608/mjcu.2025.445141

Determination of Fusidic Acid Concentration by First-Derivative Ultraviolet Spectrophotometry to Calculate Loading Capacity and Encapsulation Efficiency in a Wound Healing Formulation Using Zein Nanoparticles Loaded with Fusidic Acid

Document Type : Original Article

Author

WALID G. MAREY, BSc.*,**; HAIDY ABBAS, Ph.D.**; SOHA M. EL-MASRY, Ph.D.**; DOAA A. HABIBB, Ph.D.* and ESMAIL M. EL-FAKHARANY, Ph.D.*,***

*Protein Research Department, Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology Research Institute (GEBRI), City of Scientific Research and Technological Applications (SRTA-City), Alexandria, Egypt. **Department of Pharmaceutics, Damanhour University, Damanhour, Egypt. ***Pharmaceutical and Fermentation Industries Development Center, City of Scientific Research and Technological Applications, Alexandria, Egypt

10.21608/mjcu.2025.445141

Abstract

Background: Fusidic acid, a potent antimicrobial agent, has been widely applied for treating skin infections. Optimiz-ing its incorporation in nanoparticle systems enhances wound healing potential and drug delivery efficacy. Aim of Study: This study aims to quantify fusidic acid using first-derivative ultraviolet spectrophotometry and utilize this data to calculate the drug’s loading capacity (LC%) and encap-sulation efficiency (EE%) in zein-based nanoparticles. Material and Methods: A linear calibration curve was constructed over the concentration range of 5–40μg/mL using first-derivative UV spectra. Fusidic acid-loaded zein nanoparti-cles stabilized with dextran sulfate were prepared by nanopre-cipitation, and the amount of drug encapsulated was determined using the derivative spectrophotometric method. Wound-heal-ing formulation parameters were applied. Results: The method showed excellent linearity with an R2 = 0.9965 and a calibration equation of y = 0.0101x. The calculated EE% and LC% were optimized across various for-mulations. Data suggest that derivative spectrophotometry is an efficient, reproducible method for fusidic acid quantification in nanoparticulate systems. Conclusion: First-derivative UV spectrophotometry is a reliable method for assessing fusidic acid content and enables accurate determination of key formulation metrics for nanopar-ticle drug delivery systems in wound healing.

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