Nanostructured lipid carriers: A platform to lipophilic drug for oral bioavailability enhancement

Abstract

Lipid based drug delivery system such as Solid lipid nanoparticle (SLN) and Nanostructured lipid carriers (NLC) are among the most promising drug delivery system used in many industries such as food, pharmaceuticals and cosmetics industries. Over the last few years, new constituents of lipids have developed and investigated for enhancement of bioavailability. The present manuscript is an attempt on solving the concerned uncertainty with efficacious peroral administration of hydrophobic drugs through fabricating new lipid formulations, NLC. NLC, the second-generation lipid carrier is usually composed of solid lipids and liquid lipids together in a system. This mixing causes depression in melting point of substrates and converts the mixture into solid form at body temperature and termed as NLC. NLC shows a high drug loading with minimum drug expulsion. The unique advantages of NLC over SLN and Lipid-drug conjugates (LDC) are increased capacity of drug loading, avoidance of drug expulsion. This manuscript gives detailed information on definitions and simple way of production methods, new approaches in formulation of NLC and it also highlights how NLC improves bioavailability of bioactive molecules through peroral route and its future perspective as a pharmaceutical carrier. It also gives idea about the supremacy of NLC over other lipid-based system. Keywords: Bioavailability; Lipids; Lipophilic drugs; Nanostructured lipid carriers; Solid lipid nanoparticle.