Cubosomes: An Overview

Abstract

Surfactant and polymers are generally used in the controlled drug delivery systems. Surfactant and polymer systems form supra-assemblies, which are extensively exploited as active delivery vehicles. These systems include liquid crystalline aggregates (e.g., liposomes and cubosomes) or cross-linked gel networks (hydrogels) that load, stabilize, and eventually deliver active ingredients. The potential for utilizing a particular active with a vehicle depends on the physicochemical properties of both. To achieve therapeutic effects, it must be possible to load sufficient amounts of the active, which largely depends on the interaction of the vehicle and active. Further, the integrity of the active must be retained through all stages: preparation, storage, and use. The release rate of actives must be controlled to achieve optimal drug release profiles, while ease of preparation and vehicle stability must also be considered. An optimal delivery vehicle must successfully encompass all these properties.Cubosomes are bicontinuous cubic phase liquid crystals have many properties that make them appealing as a universal vehicle for drug delivery. Luzzati et al. 1) first documented its geometric model supplied later by Scriven.2) Which is in the past decade have been examined for drug delivery.3) The surfactant assembles into bilayers that are twisted into a three dimension, periodic, minimal surface forming tightly packed structure, like "honeycombed" with bicontinuous domains of water and lipid.Cubosome particles are first prepared by mechanical fragmentation of the cubic lipid-water phase in a three-phase region containing a liposomal dispersion and to differentiate from liposomes, these particles have been termed as cubosomes. [4][5][6][7][8] Its structure is different from liposomes because its structure can simultaneously accommodate water-soluble, lipid-soluble, and amphiphilic molecules.Three structure of cubosomes have been proposed by Luzzati et al. 9); (i) Pn3m (D-surface) (Diamond surface), (ii) Ia3d (G-surface) (Gyroid surface), and (iii) Im3m (P-surface) (Primitive surface), in terms of nodal surfaces.The structure generally maintains the efficacy; stability of actives such as vitamins 10) and proteins. 11) Cubosomes are thermodynamically stable; lasting indefinitely.12) Colloidal dispersions of cubosomes can be stabilized by the addition of polymers.13) They also possess the potential for controlled delivery of actives, where diffusion is governed by the tortuous diffusion of the active through the "regular" channel structure of the cubic phase.14) Cubosomes possess a sufficient average degree of molecular orientation order to characterize by structural symmetry, and often form in aqueous surfactant system at relatively high ampiphile concentrations.History Luzzati and Husson 15) and Luzzati et al. first recognized the existence of cubic phases in lipid-water system using X-ray scattering measurement. Fontell et al. 16) drew similar conclusions regarding cubic phase in ternary systems of ampiphiles, oils and ...

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