Lipid-Based Nanoparticles: Application and Recent Advances in Cancer Treatment

Abstract

Many therapeutically active molecules are non-soluble in aqueous systems, chemically and biologically fragile or present severe side effects. Lipid-based nanoparticle (LBNP) systems represent one of the most promising colloidal carriers for bioactive organic molecules. Their current application in oncology has revolutionized cancer treatment by improving the antitumor activity of several chemotherapeutic agents. LBNPs advantages include high temporal and thermal stability, high loading capacity, ease of preparation, low production costs, and large-scale industrial production since they can be prepared from natural sources. Moreover, the association of chemotherapeutic agents with lipid nanoparticles reduces active therapeutic dose and toxicity, decreases drug resistance and increases drug levels in tumor tissue by decreasing them in healthy tissue. LBNPs have been extensively assayed in in vitro cancer therapy but also in vivo, with promising results in some clinical trials. This review summarizes the types of LBNPs that have been developed in recent years and the main results when applied in cancer treatment, including essential assays in patients.

The Role of Natural Compounds and their Nanocarriers in the Treatment of CNS Inflammation

“…SLNs and NLCs are nano-sized (usually 100–400 nm) colloidal lipid particles consisting of solid lipids and surfactants with or without oils (liquid lipids). SLNs and NLCs have been encouraged for the brain delivery of natural compounds owing to their several advantages such as high loading capacity for hydrophobic molecules, improved stability, controlled drug release, and enhanced BA as well as biocompatibility [ 193 , 194 ]. Moreover, surface-conjugation with hydrophilic moieties such as PEG, poloxamers, and polysorbates and with targeting moieties such as ApoE in SLNs and NLCs allow prolonged blood circulation and targeted delivery across the BBB, respectively [ 195 , 196 , 197 , 198 ].…”

Nanoparticle-Loaded Polarized-Macrophages for Enhanced Tumor Targeting and Cell-Chemotherapy

“…Drug-loaded nanoparticles were formed by loading chemotherapeutic drugs into nanoparticles and then loaded into macrophages, preventing drug damage to the cells [34,35]. Lipid nanoparticles (LNPs) with favorable biocompatibility and excellent safety have been widely used as drug delivery vessels [36][37][38]. Patisiran, a drug delivered by LNP, was approved by the FDA in 2018 [39].…”

Comparative Study of Antitumor Activity between Lipophilic Bismuth Nanoparticles (BisBAL NPs) and Chlorhexidine on Human Squamous Cell Carcinoma

“…Nanomedicine constitutes an interesting field to develop new antitumor drugs. In the last years, several reports have described the employment of different kinds of nanoparticles to treat cancer, underlining selenium, silver, and zinc nanoparticles and nanoformulations for drug delivery [17][18][19][20]. Earlier, our group described the selective antitumor activity of lipophilic bismuth nanoparticles (BisBAL NPs) on breast human cancer cells showing a specific and dose-dependent phenomenon [21].…”