Executive Summary : | Medicinal herbs have been used for centuries in disease treatment, prevention, and prophylaxis, with antifungal drug resistance being a significant concern. Encapsulation techniques have revolutionized transdermal drug delivery, with natural medicinal sources combining active pharmaceutical ingredients to make transdermal delivery more effective. This study aims to improve the transdermal permeation of anti-fungal drug bifonazole using conventional ethosomes and Mallotus philippinensis active constituents, which possess antifungal properties and are potential antioxidants in ethanol compositions. The synergistic effect of the combination of natural medicinal agents is proposed to be responsible for higher stable formulations and better antifungal profiles. The study will study the drug-phospholipid-ethanol interaction through thermodynamic and acoustical parameters and analytical evaluation. The objectives include physico-chemical interaction studies of bifonazole with phopholipid in different hydro-ethanolic compositions, dispersion of phopholipid encapsulated drug in carbopol-based gel formulation, extraction of Mallotus philippinensis active constituents within extract powder, and physical and analytical evaluations such as compatibility study by spectroscopy, vesicle shape visualization using transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM), size and zeta potential, drug entrapment, drug content, and drug penetration via confocal laser microscopic technique. |