Cytotoxicity and Genotoxicity of Solid Lipid Nanoparticles

Abstract

Solid lipid nanoparticles (SLNs) were the last nanoparticles discovered; however, these particles have received great attention as drug delivery system besides the other one. These particles can be produced by several methods, which include methods without use of organic solvents or with only reagents previously approved by Food and Drug Administration (FDA) through the GRAS rules. Furthermore, the easy scale up of production and particles sterilization led to an increase in the industry interest in these nanostructures. Nowadays, there are some products with SLNs on the market and the tendency is that the number of products with this carrier increases significantly in the next years. For this, studies about their toxicity in vitro and in vivo are increasing. SLN exhibits low or no cyto- and genotoxic effect on different cells that were already studied. The cytotoxicity and genotoxicity depend on the SLN composition, more specifically, of the solid lipid and surfactant used in the preparation. Some solid lipid or surfactant can increase the cyto- or genotoxic effect of SLN indicating that SLN composition plays an important role in the cytotoxic and genotoxic effect of these particles.