Dead Sea Minerals loaded polymeric nanoparticles.

Therapeutic properties of Dead Sea Water (DSW) in the treatment of skin diseases such as atopic dermatitis, psoriasis and photo aging UV damaged skin have been well established. DSW is in fact rich in minerals such as calcium, magnesium, sodium, potassium, zinc and strontium which are known to exploit anti-inflammatory effects and to promote skin barrier recovery. In order to develop a Dead Sea Minerals (DSM) based drug delivery system for topical therapy of skin diseases, polymeric nanoparticles based on Poly (maleic anhydride-alt-butyl vinyl ether) 5% grafted with monomethoxy poly(ethyleneglycol) 2000 MW (PEG) and 95% grafted with 2-methoxyethanol (VAM41-PEG) loaded with DSM were prepared by means of a combined miniemulsion/solvent evaporation process. The resulting nanoparticles were characterized in terms of dimension, morphology, biocompatibility, salt content and release. Cytocompatible spherical nanoparticles possessing an average diameter of about 300 nm, a time controlled drug release profile and a high formulation yield were obtained.