Exploitation of lipid-polymeric matrices at nanoscale for drug delivery applications

ABSTRACT

Introduction: Progress in drug delivery and a better quality of life for patients, relies on the development of new and suitable drug carrier systems, with unequivocal therapeutic benefits, low systemic toxicity and reduced side effects. Lipid-polymeric nanoparticles have been explored to produce nanocarriers due to their features and applications such as high drug entrapment, physical-chemical stability and controlled release properties.

Areas covered: In this review, we describe several hybrid nanoparticles obtained from mixing a polymer with a lipid matrix. This association can potentiate the efficacy of drug delivery systems, due to the enhancement of encapsulation efficiency and loading capacity, tailoring the drug release according to the therapeutic purpose, and improving the drug uptake by targeting it to specific receptors. Contrary to lipid nanoparticles, these hybrid nanoparticles can decrease the initial burst release and promote a more sustained and localized release of the drug.

Expert Opinion: Lipid-polymeric nanoparticles are versatile vehicles for drug delivery by different administration routes in the treatment of multiple diseases. Different solid lipids, polymers, surfactants and techniques for producing these carriers have been investigated, revealing the importance of their composition to achieve optimal characteristics to drug delivery.

KEYWORDS:

• Hybrid nanoparticle
• lipid
• lipid-polymeric nanoparticle
• nanoparticle
• polymer

Article highlights

• Solid lipid nanoparticles (SLN) are considered safe vehicles for drug delivery, composed of lipids in solid state at room and body temperature.

• To overcome some disadvantages of SLN, different lipid-based nanoparticles have been engineered such as nanostructured lipid carriers (NLC), lipid-drug conjugates (LDC) and more recently lipid-polymeric nanoparticles.

• Different polymers of natural or synthetic nature may be used to modify the lipid structure of nanoparticles.

• This hybrid nanoparticle system can incorporate drugs with different physical-chemical properties, and be administered by different routes according to the therapeutic target.

• Lipid-polymeric nanoparticles have shown very promising results in drug delivery.

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Declaration of interests

B Sarmento would like to thanks Ciências Sem Fronteiras Program, Special Visitor Researcher (Chamada de Projetos MEC/MCTI/CAPES/CNPq/FAPs – nº 09/2014) for support. D Sgorla acknowledges the financial support of CAPES/FA Program (Chamada Pública 11/2014), both linked to Pharmaceutical Sciences Postgraduate Research Program (PCF – UNIOESTE/Paraná/Brazil). P Fonte thanks Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia (FCT), Portugal (SFRH/BD/78127/2011) for financial support. 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