Abstract
Introduction: Nanostructured lipid carriers (NLC) are the second generation solid lipid nanoparticles (SLN) composed of solid lipid matrix which is incorporated with liquid lipids. The effect of polysorbate 20 and polysorbate 80 in the stabilization of NLC was investigated through the physiochemical properties of the formulated nanoparticles. Methods: The NLC20 and NLC80 were produced using high-pressure homogenization technique, stabilized with polysorbate 20 and polysorbate 80, respectively. Results: Transmission electron microscopy showed that these NLCs were spherical. Photon correlation spectroscopy showed that the average size of NLC80 and NLC20 were 102.8 ± 0.1 and 261.63 ± 8.56 nm, respectively, and their zeta potentials were − 23.93 ± 0.75 and − 30.57 ± 0.06 mV, respectively. The results suggested that NLC80 is a more stable formulation. X ray diffractometry and differential scanning calorimetry showed that NCLs were less crystalline than the bulk lipid. The melting point depression of NLC80 was 5.71 °C below bulk lipid's melting point (61.56 °C), while NLC20 exhibited two melting points at 54.80 and 59.10 °C. Conclusion: These findings suggested that polysorbate 80 was a better dispersing agent for NLC than polysorbate 20. The physicochemistry properties of the NLCs were greatly influenced by the type of surfactant used. The small size and superior particle surface to volume ratio would increase loading efficiency and bioavailability of drugs, thus making NLC a promising drug delivery system.
Published Version
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