Probing nanoliposomes using single particle analytical techniques: effect of excipients, solvents, phase transition and zeta potential

Abstract

There has been a steady increase in the interest towards employing nanoliposomes as colloidal drug delivery systems, particularly in the last few years. Their biocompatibility nature along with the possibility of encapsulation of lipid-soluble, water-soluble and amphipathic molecules and compounds are among the advantages of employing these lipidic nanocarriers. A challenge in the successful formulation of nanoliposomal systems is to control the critical physicochemical properties, which impact their in vivo performance, and validating analytical techniques that can adequately characterize these nanostructures. Of particular interest are the chemical composition of nanoliposomes, their phase transition temperature, state of the encapsulated material, encapsulation efficiency, particle size distribution, morphology, internal structure, lamellarity, surface charge, and drug release pattern. These attributes are highly important in revealing the supramolecular arrangement of nanoliposomes and incorporated drugs and ensuring the stability of the formulation as well as consistent drug delivery to target tissues. In this article, we present characterization of nanoliposomal formulations as an example to illustrate identification of key in vitro characteristics of a typical nanotherapeutic agent. Corresponding analytical techniques are discussed within the context of nanoliposome assessment, single particle analysis and ensuring uniform manufacture of therapeutic formulations with batch-to-batch consistency.

Carboxymethyl chitosan‐decorated proliposomes as carriers for improved stability and sustained release of flaxseed oil

“…It is interesting to note that the zeta potential values of the rehydrated proliposomes slightly increased with prolonged storage time. Despite the fact that zeta potential values above +30 mV and below −30 mV are thought to be suitable for the stability of colloidal vesicles (Danaei et al., 2018), the above results implied that the stability of vesicles can be improved by coating them with CMCS.…”

“…Zeta potential is a function of the surface charge of the vesicles. It is known that the particles in a suspension that exhibits a large zeta potential (negative or positive) will tend to repel each other and resist aggregation (Danaei et al., 2018). With the addition of CMCS, the absolute zeta potential value of the proliposome solution increased to –12.8 mV.…”

The effect of ethanol evaporation on the properties of inkjet produced liposomes

“…It has been previously proposed that ethanol content has an effect on the net charge and stability of the system [39][40][41][42][43]. In addition, this observation may be explained by the fact that the zeta potential of liposomes is directly related to the dielectric constant of the solvent [44]. As dielectric constant of water is greater than that for ethanol [45], then removing ethanol from the liposome solution would increase the dielectric constant of media, and consequently the zeta potential.…”

Efficacy of Polymer-Based Nanocarriers for Co-Delivery of Curcumin and Selected Anticancer Drugs

“…Nanoliposomes are artificial and smaller spherical-shaped vesicles formulated from phospholipid and cholesterol ( Figure 4) [87]. They exhibit the size range of 30 nm to a few micrometers.…”

“…These nanocarriers display both hydrophobic and hydrophilic features with good biocompatibility. Their features are different in relation to zeta potential, particle size, the composition of the lipids, and the method of preparation [87]. Nanoliposomes consist of lipid bilayers surrounded by aqueous components, whereby the polar head groups are oriented in the pathway of the interior and exterior aqueous phases.…”