A great challenge facing the pharmaceutical scientists is transforming the new pharmacologically active lipophilic compounds that are poorly water soluble into orally administered medications with sufficient bioavailability. Lipid-based drug delivery systems has shown a great potential in the oral delivery of poorly water-soluble drugs, primarily for lipophilic drugs, with several successfully marketed products. Oral lipid-based formulations comprises of a broad range of oils, surfactants, and co-solvents. This review provides a comprehensive summary of the development, characterization, and utilization of oral lipidbased formulations, from both physicochemical and biopharmaceutical perspectives. The properties of the various lipid excipients are discussed and the criteria for selection of excipients for lipid-based formulations are identified. Finally the future prospects of this technique have been addressed to expand the utility of lipid based drug delivery systems.

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Background: Overexpression of sFlt-1 or modulation of FKBPL, key antiangiogenic proteins, are important in the pathogenesis of preeclampsia. Methods: A newly developed nonviral gene-delivery system, RALA, capable of overexpressing sFlt-1 (e15a isoform) was delivered in vivo in transgenic haploinsufficient ( Fkbpl+/−) mice. RALA was also used in vitro to deliver human Flt1 (hFlt1) in trophoblast cells. Results: Serum stable and nontoxic RALA/DNA-based nanoparticles induced an increase in sFlt-1 protein levels in the blood and total protein in the urine; the effect was more pronounced in Fkbpl+/− mice. In vitro, RALA-hFlt nanoparticles significantly reduced secretion of sFlt-1 in trophoblast cells. Conclusion: The RALA-based genetic nanodelivery system can be safely and effectively applied to emulate preeclampsia-like features or reduce sFlt-1 levels in vitro.