Solid Lipid Nanoparticles for Brain Targeting

Abstract

The central nervous system, one of the most delicate microenvironments of the body, is protected by the blood-brain barrier (BBB) regulating its homeostasis. However, the BBB also significantly precludes the delivery of drugs to the brain, thus, preventing the therapy of a number of neurological disorders. As a consequence, several strategies are currently being sought after to enhance the delivery of drugs across the BBB. The present chapter discusses the potential use of solid lipid nanoparticles (SLN) for brain drug targeting purposes. The structures, preparation techniques, and physicochemical characterization of SLN are systematically elucidated. The potential advantages of the use of solid lipid nanoparticles over others nanosystems are accounted on the bases of a lower cytotoxicity, higher drug loading capacity and best production scalability. Solid lipid nanoparticles physicochemical characteristics are also particularly regarded in order to address the critical issues related to the development of suitable brain targeting formulations. Supplemented with small size which prolongs the circulation time in blood, feasible scale up for large scale production and 274absence of burst effect makes them interesting candidates for study. Finally, future technological approaches are described. The strong efforts to allow the translation from preclinical to concrete clinical applications are worth the economic investments.