Formulation Development of Nifedipine through Nanotechnology: A Comprehensive Review.

Abstract

The therapeutic use of nifedipine, a dihydropyridine calcium channel blocker, is limited due to its poor solubility profile, rapid onset of its action, stability profile and short biological half-life. Many formulation techniques have been applied to improve physicochemical and pharmacological properties of the drug. The objective of the study is to summarize the nanotechnology approaches made to improve the therapeutic and pharmacokinetic properties of nifedipine till 2020. The searches for the related articles were done up to 28 March 2020 with the specific keywords in Pubmed and Google Scholar excluding review articles. The discussion showed that among the nano-carriers used to improve the pharmacological property of the drug, lipid nanoparticles, polymeric nanoparticles, crystalline nanoparticles, and nano-emulsions were prevalent. Nanotechnology has been efficient to improve the solubility profile of nifedipine, achieve sustained and controlled release by achieving targeted and local delivery and transdermal drug delivery. Exploiting nano-formulations, new windows of therapeutic applications have been achieved. Finally, micelle media, polymeric nanoparticles, and microcrystalline nanoparticles have been used to develop a photostable formulation. The technological innovations in the field of nanomedicine have paved many ways for the delivery of nifedipine and such sparingly water-soluble compounds.