Evidence for vesicle formation from 1:1 nonionic surfactant span 60 and fatty alcohol mixtures in aqueous ethanol: potential delivery vehicle composition.

A study of the self-organization of nonionic surfactant span 60 (sorbitan mono stearate) in presence of fatty alcohol (stearyl, cetyl and lauryl) is presented. When ethanolic solution of the surfactant-fatty alcohol (1:1) mixture is added in water spontaneous large unilamellar vesicles (LUV) are formed which may potentially be useful vehicles for drug delivery purposes. Vesicular suspension has been characterized by transmission electron microscopy, dynamic light scattering, confocal laser scanning microscopy, dye entrapment and release studies. Surface tension measurement indicates the suitability of fatty alcohols towards spontaneous vesicle formation from span 60.