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[Display omitted] • Chitosan/gum Arabic complex particles with a DDA of 96% and 78% were prepared. • The DDA affected the properties of the produced particles and Pickering emulsions. • The stability of the produced Pickering emulsions (PEs) increased as DDA increased. • Higher apparent viscosity was observed in the high DDA PE than the low DDA one. • Higher CBD skin absorption than permeation was observed in both formulations. Pickering emulsions (PEs) have recently gained increasing attention as green carriers of bioactive agents due to their surfactant-free and eco-friendly nature. Herein, the effect of the degree of deacetylation (DDA) of chitosan on the properties of chitosan/gum Arabic (CH/GA) particles and PEs was investigated. CH/GA particles with a DDA of 96% (high DDA) and 78% (low DDA) were prepared. The contact angle of water drop for the CH/GA particles prepared with high and low DDA chitosan was 84.2° and 77.5°, respectively. The dynamic interfacial tension of the particles has shown lower values with high DDA chitosan. The high DDA PE formulation exhibited higher stability after two months of storage than its counterpart prepared with low DDA chitosan. The mean emulsion droplet size was 15.6 ± 4.3 µm and 21.1 ± 2.6 µm for PEs prepared with high and low DDA chitosan, respectively. Both PE formulations demonstrated shear thinning and elastic gel-like properties. The amount of cannabidiol absorbed by the stratum corneum , viable epidermis and dermis was significantly higher in both PE formulations than the permeated amount, but no significant difference was observed between the amounts absorbed from both formulations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Pickering emulsions (PEs) are attracting increasing attention in the areas of food, cosmetic and pharmaceutical applications owing to their surfactant-free and eco-friendly nature. Herein, PEs stabilized by chitosan/collagen peptides (CH/CP) nanoparticles were assessed as green surfactant-free vehicles for the topical delivery of cannabidiol (CBD), a highly lipophilic unstable drug that is finding an increasing appeal in the cosmetic market. The influence of the oil phase volume fraction (φ) and the oil type on the emulsion properties, stability, rheological properties, as well as on the ex-vivo skin absorption of CBD was evaluated. The PE prepared with olive oil (φ = 0.6) exhibited elastic gel-like properties and demonstrated long-term stability after 5 months of storage, with a CBD content of 99.45% of the initially added amount. The skin absorption studies showed that CBD was retained in high amounts in the stratum corneum , while the CBD skin permeation was extremely low, indicating that the produced formulations are suitable as topical delivery vehicles. ATR-FTIR examination of the treated skin samples confirmed that the produced PEs were able to overcome the stratum corneum barrier. These findings suggest that the PEs stabilized with CH/CP nanoparticles provide an effective surfactant-free alternative for the topical delivery of CBD. [Display omitted] • Chitosan/collagen peptides Pickering emulsions were used as green vehicles for CBD. • The produced Pickering emulsions demonstrated high CBD encapsulation efficiency. • The stability of the developed emulsions is affected by the oil type and amount. • The produced Pickering emulsions led to high CBD deposition in the stratum corneum. • Higher oil volume fractions enhanced the amount of CBD delivered to the skin. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]