In Vitro Antifungal Evaluation of a Posaconazole-Loaded Menthosomal Hydrogel Against Candida albicans

Posaconazole is a broad-spectrum triazole antifungal agent used against a range of pathogenic fungi. The present study aimed to evaluate the in vitro antifungal activity of an optimized Posaconazole-loaded Menthosomes hydrogel (PMLH) against Candida albicans. The antifungal activity was assessed using the agar well diffusion method, with the zone of inhibition (ZOI) used as the primary response. The optimized PMLH formulation was evaluated in comparison with a marketed Posaconazole formulation and Posaconazole active pharmaceutical ingredient (API). A drug-free hydrogel base and blank well were included as controls to determine the contribution of the formulation matrix and experimental setup to the observed antifungal activity. The optimized PMLH contained 90.20 ± 0.6% drug content and was tested at an equivalent Posaconazole concentration of 10 µg/mL. Following incubation, the ZOI was measured in millimetres. The PMLH exhibited a ZOI of 26.9 ± 1.7 mm, compared with 24.4 ± 1.5 mm for the marketed Posaconazole formulation and 18.8 ± 1.3 mm for Posaconazole API. No visible inhibition was observed for either the drug-free hydrogel base or blank. The larger inhibition zone produced by PMLH indicates enhanced apparent antifungal activity under the conditions of the agar diffusion assay and may be associated with improved drug dispersion and diffusion from the Menthosomal hydrogel matrix. However, the observed ZOI is also influenced by formulation viscosity, drug release, partitioning, and diffusion. Overall, the findings support the potential of PMLH as a promising formulation approach for improving the apparent antifungal performance of Posaconazole against C. albicans. Further standardized studies are warranted to confirm these findings.

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