Drug combinations and the bioavailability of rifampicin

Abstract

Lipid nanoparticle formulations (LNFs) are on the frontier of the rapidly expanding arena of nanotechnology-based therapeutics. The prospect of improved antitubercular therapy (ATT) using LNFs as drug carriers shows great potential. Numerous hurdles recurrently associated with the use of antitubercular drugs (ATDs) like organ toxicity, variable bioavailability, poor gastrointestinal (GI) absorption, solubility, chemical instability, prevalence of latent infection, and emergence of drug-resistant M. tuberculosis strains may be overcome or mitigated by the use of LNFs for tuberculosis (TB) therapy. The emergence of two newer subtypes of LNFs, namely, solid-lipid nanoparticles (SLNs) and nanostructured lipid carriers (NLCs), further expand the role of these versatile drug carriers in TB treatment. As such, it is anticipated that LNFs will emerge as one of the more promising carrier systems in the near future for the efficient delivery of ATDs to effectively address current issues with their clinical use. This review focuses on the current role of lipid-based nanoparticle formulations in ATT with a special emphasis on two key variants of LNF technology: SLNs and NLCs that are formulated using nanoencapsulation. We also present the rationale and approaches for future translation and successful commercialization of LNFs.