Lipid Nanoparticles and Their Hydrogel Composites for Drug Delivery: A Review

Abstract

Several drug delivery systems already exist for the encapsulation and subsequent release of lipophilic drugs that are well described in the scientific literature. Among these, lipid nanoparticles (LNP) have specifically come up for dermal, transdermal, mucosal, intramuscular and ocular drug administration routes in the last twenty years. However, for some of them (especially dermal, transdermal, mucosal), the LNP aqueous dispersions display unsuitable rheological properties. They therefore need to be processed as semi-solid formulations such as LNP-hydrogel composites to turn into versatile drug delivery systems able to provide precise spatial and temporal control of active ingredient release. In the present review, recent developments in the formulation of lipid nanoparticle-hydrogel composites are highlighted, including examples of successful encapsulation and release of lipophilic drugs through the skin, the eyes and by intramuscular injections. In relation to lipid nanoparticles, a specific emphasis has been put on the LNP key properties and how they influence their inclusion in the hydrogel. Polymer matrices include synthetic polymers such as poly(acrylic acid)-based materials, environment responsive (especially thermo-sensitive) polymers, and innovative polysaccharide-based hydrogels. The composite materials constitute smart, tunable drug delivery systems with a wide range of features, suitable for dermal, transdermal, and intramuscular controlled drug release.

Characterization of Collagen/Lipid Nanoparticle–Curcumin Cryostructurates for Wound Healing Applications

“…It thus appears that, in the time lapse from day 14 to 25, dyes were released partly in the form of encapsulated particles and partly as free molecules (Figure S8, Supporting Information). Similar diffusion patterns have been reported for other lipid nanoparticle/hydrogels (in particular, polysaccharide‐based) by us and others …”

“…The first “burst release” phase could be accounted for by the fast diffusion of LNP directly contacting the water phase, whereas deeper particles would take longer to escape . Apparently, diffusion is more influenced by charge and hydrogel pore size than by particle size . Indeed, as observed here, the diffusion kinetics of F50 was only a bit faster than that of F120 nanoparticles (Figure A).…”

“…Lipid nanoparticle diffusion from hydrogels is a diffusion‐driven process . The first “burst release” phase could be accounted for by the fast diffusion of LNP directly contacting the water phase, whereas deeper particles would take longer to escape .…”

Deferoxamine and Curcumin Loaded Nanocarriers Protect Against Rotenone-Induced Neurotoxicity

“…Nanocarriers were developed using the amphiphilic polymer P68 as it has been successfully used to develop micellar nanocarriers of numerous compounds [39][40][41] including curcumin for other indications [42][43][44][45]. Mitochondrial targeting of nanocarriers using dequilinium has been established [25,29,46] therefore, the addition of dequilinium to the nanoformulation was used to assess whether mitochondrial targeting would result in increased potency.…”

Adjuvant Antitumor Immunity Contributes to the Overall Antitumor Effect of Pegylated Liposomal Doxorubicin (Doxil®) in C26 Tumor-Bearing Immunocompetent Mice

“…Drug delivery systems enable the enhanced absorption, controlled release and targeting of chemotherapeutics to tumor tissues. So, many researchers have developed various types of drug delivery systems, such as nanoparticles, liposomes, micelles, emulsions and hydrogels, for the improvement of cancer chemotherapy [ 19 , 20 ]. Each delivery system has distinct physicochemical characteristics, including size, charge, rheology and pH.…”