A REVIEW ARTICLE ON NANOSTRUCTURED LIPID CARRIERS (NLCS) FOR DRUG DELIVERY AND TARGETING SYSTEM.

During the past decade, the number of studies describing nanostructured lipid carriers (NLC)-based formulations has been dramatically increased. The raise in NLC exploitation is essentially due to defeated barriers within the technological process of lipid-based nanoparticles’ formulation and increased knowledge of the underlying mechanisms of transport of NLC via different routes of administration. This review article aims to give an overview on the current state of the art of nanostructured lipid carriers as controlled drug delivery systems for future clinics through novel NLC applications providing examples of successful outcomes. The reported data clearly illustrate the promise of these nanoparticles for novel treatments in the near future. Nanostructured lipid carrier (NLC), have been studied for their capability as biodegradable, biocompatible, and physiological lipids are generally used to prepare these nanoparticles. Hence, toxicity problems related with the polymeric nanoparticles can be minimized. Furthermore, stability of the formulations might increase than other liquid nano-carriers due to the solid matrix of these lipid nanoparticles. These nanoparticles can be produced by different formulation techniques. Scaling up of the production process from lab scale to industrial scale can be easily achieved. Reasonably high drug encapsulation efficiency of the nanoparticles was documented. Keywords: Nanostructured Lipid Carriers, NLC, SLN, lipid nanoparticles