An insight into cochleates, a potential drug delivery system

Abstract

Cochleates, a type of lipid based drug delivery system, are solid particulates made up of large continuous lipid bilayer sheets rolled up in a spiral structure with little or no internal aqueous phase. These nano-sized or sub-micron sized structures are generated on fusion of negatively charged liposomes with metal cations. They are efficient in encapsulating drug molecules that are hydrophobic and hydrophilic; positively charged as well as negatively charged. The interior of a cochleate structure remains substantially intact irrespective of outer harsh environmental conditions or enzymes. Cochleate technology is applicable for administration through parenteral, topical as well as oral routes and can be formulated in liquid or powder form. Cochleates have been reported to improve the oral bioavailability; improve the safety of the drugs by decreasing side effects and increasing drug efficacy; all of which lead to enhanced patient compliance. This review article highlights the important aspects of cochleates such as their structure, properties, methods of preparation, stability, advantages, applications and current status. The information provided herein should help formulators in judiciously selecting cochleate technology for delivery of drugs.

Dry Powder Inhalers: A Focus on Advancements in Novel Drug Delivery Systems

“…They have limitations. For instance, phospholipid may sometimes undergo oxidation and hydrolysis like reaction, short half-life, and poor mechanical stability due to leakage and fusion of the formulation [70]. To overcome these limitations, a hybrid class of lipid-coated particles has received good attention in recent years.…”

“…They have been reported to improve the systemic bioavailability and safety with good level of patient compliance compared to liposomes. There is a need to develop cochleates based dry powder inhaler formulations [70]. Ligand conjugated delivery system can also be explored to enhance the efficacy of the dry powder inhaler.…”

Recent Nanocochleate Drug Delivery System for Cancer Treatment: A Review

“…These lipid-based carriers are stable precipitates of phospholipid cation consisting of naturally occurring materials phosphatidylserine and calcium ion in general. In the formulation of nanocochleate continuous lipid bilayers sheet rolled up in a way that developed spiral structure without inner aqueous phase between them cochleares differing from liposomes in having cylindrical shaped and water-free interior structure [9][10][11].…”

“…Papahadjopoulos and Wilschut first reported these structures at 1979. Nanocochleates carrier is based on the encapsulation of drugs in a multilayered lipidic matrix for safe and effective delivery of the drugs in cancer cells [9][10][11][12][13].…”

Cochleate‐Doped Liquid Crystal as Switchable Metamaterial Window Mediated by Molecular Orientation Modified Aggregation

“…Being biocompatible with highly resilient multiple bilayer structure, cochleates have gained much interest in usage as drug delivery systems. [ 37–39 ] However, like many other porous nano and microparticles which can create a new tunable photonic metamaterial when mixed with liquid crystals; nanoporous structures such as cochleates can be appropriate building blocks for the development of tunable metamaterials with fascinating optical and electrical properties. Here we demonstrate the usage of cochleate particles without the drug incorporated within them (i.e., empty cochleates) for LC devices functionality.…”