Nanostructured lipid carriers (NLC) in cosmetic dermal products☆

Lovastatin Nanoparticle Synthesis and Characterization for Better Drug Delivery

“…Some of the lipophilic and hydrophobic emulsifiers used for the preparations of NLCs are myverol 18-04K, soybean phosphatidylcholine, and Pluronic F68 [6,10]. These emulsifiers play a vital role in targeted drug delivery, stabilization during storage, and optimum release of this drug [6,7].…”

“…One such classification based on the composition of lipids are low oil, high oil, and amorphous oil NLCs [7,11]. More space for the accommodation of drug molecules (high drug load) could be achieved by mixing solid lipids with small amounts of liquid lipids (oils).…”

“…For example, spatially different lipids like glycerides composed of different fatty acids can be mixed together leading to larger distances between the fatty acid chains of the glycerides and general imperfections in the crystal. This model is known as ''imperfect type NLCs'' [7]. Many drugs show a higher solubility in oils than in solid lipids.…”

“…The amount of oil should not exceed the amount of solid lipid to get a perfect nanostructure. Since a high solubility of oil molecules in the solid lipid leads to phase separation, and there is a possibility of the formation of oily nanocompartments within the solid lipid matrix [7,9]. This ''multiple-type NLC'' can be considered as an analog to water/oil/water emulsion as it has oil-in-solid lipid-in-water dispersion.…”

“…Polymer-aided nanoparticles in the market are limited by *Address correspondence to this author at the Biochemical Engineering Laboratory (MSB 140A and MSB 235A), Department of Chemical Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology Madras, Chennai 600 036, Tamil Nadu, India; Tel: +91-9840708563; E-mail: panda@iitm.ac.in some of the characteristic features, viz., toxicity of the polymers, presence of solvent residues in the compound during production and purification, high cost, degradability, lack of suitable large-scale production units, requirement of high quality and purity in the case of biodegradable polymer [6,7]. Lipid-based carriers such as solid lipid nanoparticles (SLNs), nano-structured lipid carriers (NLCs), and lipid emulsions (LEs) are chosen for the recent application because of the drawbacks of the polymeric support.…”