Title: Nanostructured Lipid Carriers and their application in drug delivery

Authors: S. Khurana, P. Utreja, A.K. Tiwary, N.K. Jain, S. Jain

Addresses: Govt. Institute of Pharmaceutical Sciences and Engineering, Amritsar-143104, Punjab, India. ' Rayat Institute of Pharmacy, Ropar-144533, Punjab, India. ' Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences and Drug Research, Punjabi University, Patiala-147002, Punjab, India. ' Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Dr. H.S. Gour University, Sagar-470003, MP, India. ' Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences and Drug Research, Punjabi University, Patiala-147002, Punjab, India

Abstract: Since a decade, trials are being made to utilise Solid Lipid Nanoparticles (SLN) as a drug delivery system. However, the major limitation of SLN is limited drug payload and drug expulsion during storage. Recently, areas of research have focused on the carrier system based on mixtures of solid and liquid lipids known as Nanostructured Lipid Carriers (NLC). The aim of developing NLC is to overcome the limitation of SLN. This paper provides an overview of NLC technology and describes the different types of NLC, its production, characterisation and potential applications for the administration of drug molecules.

Keywords: SLN; solid lipid nanoparticles; NLC; nanostructured lipid carriers; production techniques; characterisation; applications; nanotechnology; drug delivery systems; drug payload; drug expulsion; drug molecules; drug administration.

DOI: 10.1504/IJBET.2009.022913

International Journal of Biomedical Engineering and Technology, 2009 Vol.2 No.2, pp.152 - 171

Published online: 03 Feb 2009 *

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