Ivermectin lipid-based nanocarriers as novel formulations against head lice

A new study investigating the insecticidal activity of ivermectin-loaded lipid nanocapsules (IVM-LNC) against permethrin-resistant head lice has highlighted the effectiveness in the encapsulation of ivermectin (IVM) into stable LNC dispersion with a potential clinical activity against head lice .

The study by Ullio-Gamboa et.al published in the May 2017 Journal of Parasitology Research suggests that the KT50 mortality values of head lice after exposure to two IVM-LNC formulations (0.11 and 0.28%) were significantly smaller (5 and 3 h, respectively) compared to those exposed only to LNC control group (8 h).

During the study, the LNC, prepared by a phase inversion procedure, were characterized in terms of size, surface potential, and physical stability and the nanoparticles were nearly spherical with mean diameters of 55 nm and narrow size distribution (PI ≤ 0.2).