Topically applied lipid- and surfactant-based nanoparticles in the treatment of skin disorders

ABSTRACT

Introduction: In the treatment of dermatological disorders, topical drug administration is a mainstay. However, nanoparticle-based carrier systems could improve and expand the current therapeutic range via localized delivery of active ingredients.

Areas covered: This review gives a detailed description of lipid- and surfactant-based drug delivery systems which have been explored for topical drug administration. To guide researchers in their choice of delivery system, an informative decision tree is included. Moreover, this review provides a complete overview of the topical or transdermal drug products, currently on the market or under clinical investigation, delivered via the discussed carriers, in the treatment of skin disorders.

Expert opinion: Conventional liposomes are still popular in the domain of topical or transdermal drug delivery and dominate the market landscape. However, several other carriers, such as exosomes and niosomes, are being explored which offer distinct advantages over liposomes and should therefore not be disregarded when selecting a proper drug delivery system.

KEYWORDS:

• Drug delivery
• lipid-based carrier
• skin disorders
• surfactant-based carrier
• topical
• transdermal

Article highlights

• Penetration of drugs into or through the skin is limited by the skin barrier properties and could benefit from their incorporation into nanoparticle-based drug delivery systems.

• Multiple drug delivery systems have been developed and evaluated as carrier for topical or transdermal drug delivery, mainly lipid- and surfactant-based systems which are addressed in this review.

• At present, several drug products using nanoparticle technology have reached the market or are in clinical trials for the topical/transdermal treatment of skin disorders. An up-to-date tabular overview is included.

• Despite their disadvantages, conventional liposomes are still popular drug delivery systems which currently dominate the market.

• A decision aiding tool, introduced in this review, could assists researchers in their selection of an appropriate drug delivery system depending on their needs.

This box summarizes key points contained in the article.

Declaration of interest

E Desmet was sponsored by a BOF-project (number 01J10211T, Ghent University, Belgium) and TGO grant (number 120829, IWT Belgium). The authors have no other relevant affiliations or financial involvement with any organization or entity with a financial interest in or financial conflict with the subject matter or materials discussed in the manuscript apart from those disclosed.

Additional information

Funding

This paper was not funded.