"Combosomes": A Viable Concoction for Tailoring Vesicle Characteristics

The quest for efficient drug delivery systems (DDS) is never ending considering the increasing demands of the healthcare sector. Vesicle-based DDS have been explored as viable alternatives to existing DDS and some such systems are already in the market. Among vesicle-based DDS, the traditional low stability and expensive liposomes have been slowly replaced by other more robust and inexpensive vesicular systems viz. niosomes. Herein, the prospect of intricate tailoring of the niosomal bilayer characteristics by using surfactant combinations has been explored in detail. Combination of the polyoxyethylene ether-based Brij series of surfactants has been studied focussing on hydrophile : lipophile balance (HLB) and Brij chain length. The results yield valuable insight on these factors that can be used to intricately modulate drug release. The concept that emerges is that "combination vesicles," i.e., "combosomes" inherit the best traits of each parent, i.e., the "Single" niosomes-(i) smaller size and flexible bilayer of the "Single" niosome formed by the high HLB parent and (ii) higher stability of the "Single" niosome formed by the low HLB parent. Thus the "Combosomes" incorporate the "best genes" of their parent "Single" niosomes, this optimum inheritance can be harnessed to improvise drug release from these "Combosomes."