NEW GENERATION LIPID-BASED DRUG DELIVERY SYSTEMS: LIPID NANOCAPSULES

Abstract

Objective: Nanoparticulate drug delivery systems are attracting increasing attention due to their size-dependent properties. Among these systems, polymeric nanoparticles and liposomes are the most popular nanocarriers, but to overcome the disadvantages such as low stability, short shelf life, use of organic solvents in preparation, and difficulty in scale-up, researchers have turned to lipid-based nanocarriers. Lipid nanocapsules (LNCs), one of the new generation lipidic carriers, are nanoparticular systems consisting of an oily liquid core surrounded by a hydrophilic and lipophilic rigid surfactant shell. Their structure is a hybrid nature between liposomes and polymeric nanocapsules. In this review, general information about LNCs, preparation method and scientific studies on application methods are presented. Result and Discussion: With all components FDA-approved, LNCs can be easily prepared using the phase inversion method, a patented production technology that does not contain any organic solvents, has low energy consumption and is suitable for scale-up. LNCs obtained by this method with particle sizes of 20-100 nm and a narrow size distribution range has many advantages such as having a high drug loading capacity, being suitable for surface modification, being able to stay in the blood circulation for a long time due to the polyethylene glycol chains on the surface, and high physical stability (upwards to 18 months). The use of LNCs in different pharmaceutical applications using various routes of administration such as oral, parenteral, topical, pulmonary routes for many active substances with lipophilic, amphiphilic and hydrophilic properties shows that they are potential drug delivery systems. As a result of these superior properties, LNCs emerge as promising alternative new generation drug delivery systems by overcoming the disadvantages observed in drug delivery systems, especially liposomes and polymeric nanocapsules.