Micellar solubilization of timobesone acetate in aqueous and aqueous propylene glycol solutions of nonionic surfactants

The micellar solubilization of timobesone acetate, a novel topical corticosteroid, was studied in aqueous and aqueous propylene glycol solutions of 1 to 5% nonionic surfactants at 25 degrees C. The surfactants used were polyoxyethylene (POE) sorbitan monofatty acid esters (polysorbates), fatty acid esters (Myrj), and fatty alcohol ethers (Brij), as well as sucrose monolaurate (Crodesta SL40). The increase in the solubility of timobesone acetate in the micellar solutions was dependent on the type and concentration of surfactant. The solubilizing capacity of the surfactant micelles and the distribution coefficient of timobesone acetate in aqueous micellar solutions were found (1) to increase with increasing length of the hydrophobic fatty acid group; (2) to increase according to the structure of the hydrophilic group in the order of POE sorbitan ester, sucrose ester, POE ester, and POE ether; (3) to be unaffected by the increase in POE chain length; and (4) to tend to decrease in surfactant containing unsaturated fatty acid groups. In aqueous propylene glycol solution, the solubilizing capacity increased slightly, i.e., up to 1.5-fold in 50% propylene glycol solution, for the ester-type surfactants (polysorbates and Myrj). But this increase was not observed in the ether-type surfactant (Brij) solution. The distribution coefficient decreased logarithmically with increasing concentrations of propylene glycol in the solution. This was caused by the logarithmic increase in the timobesone acetate solubility in the bulk phase, while the solubility in the micellar phase was practically unchanged. The results support the equilibrium distribution model of micellar solubilization.