Antineoplastics Encapsulated in Nanostructured Lipid Carriers

Area of Science:

• Biomedical Engineering
• Nanotechnology
• Pharmacology

Background:

• Current antineoplastic agents (AAs) often suffer from poor bioavailability, systemic toxicity, and lack of selectivity.
• Novel drug delivery systems (DDS) are crucial for improving chemotherapy efficacy and patient outcomes.
• Nanostructured lipid carriers (NLC) are promising DDS with high drug loading capacity for lipophilic AAs.

Purpose of the Study:

• To review research on NLC formulations for antineoplastic agents (AAs) from 2000 to the present.
• To evaluate the in vivo efficacy and safety of NLC-based DDS for cancer therapy.
• To explore NLC applications in codelivery and for non-classical anticancer therapies.

Main Methods:

• Systematic literature review of NLC formulations for AAs (antimetabolites, antimitotics, alkylating agents, antibiotics).
• Focus on in vivo studies assessing efficacy, biodistribution, and toxicity.
• Inclusion of studies on NLC for codelivery and alternative anticancer agents.

Main Results:

• NLC demonstrate high encapsulation efficiency for various lipophilic AAs.
• In vivo studies show enhanced tumor targeting, improved bioavailability, and increased efficacy of AAs delivered via NLC.
• NLC formulations have shown reduced systemic toxicity compared to conventional AA administration.
• NLC are effective for codelivery of multiple AAs and for delivering natural products and photosensitizers.

Conclusions:

• Nanostructured lipid carriers (NLC) represent a powerful drug delivery system (DDS) for enhancing antineoplastic agent (AA) therapy.
• NLC improve the bioavailability, targeting, and efficacy of AAs while mitigating their toxic side effects.
• NLC hold significant potential for advancing cancer treatment through improved drug delivery strategies.