Therapeutic potential of drug delivery by means of lipid nanoparticles: reality or illusion?

Abstract

Solid lipid nanoparticles (SLN) are colloidal drug carrier systems that contribute several properties required from a sophisticated drug delivery system for increasing drug bioavailability and providing effective therapy. Many advantages of SLN have been reported over traditional dosage forms and their colloidal counterparts in the studies since the early 1990s. They were optimized for oral drug delivery for the first time. The first SLN formulations were produced by reducing the particle size of solid lipid microparticles by spray congealing technique in the late 1980s. Then, studies have been continued investigating for their different administration routes else including parenteral, transdermal, ocular, nasal, respiratory etc. Their foremost qualifications such as their biocompatible nature and high drug entrapment efficiency make them promising colloidal drug carrier systems for the effective treatment of serious disasters like genetic disorders and cancer. In this review, therapeutic potential of drug delivery of SLN and nanostructured lipid carriers (NLC, the second generation of SLN) are summarized considering researches and patents on their administration via different routes and their preparations in the pharmaceutical market.