Lipid-Based Nanocarriers and Applications in Medicine

Lipid nanocarriers have recently arisen with a wide range of uses and research areas, with the advantages they offer in virtue of their unique properties. They are easily synthesized, scaled up, biodegradable, proper to transport many bioactive components, have a high loading capacity, and are convenient for various routes of administration (parenteral, oral, dermal, ocular, etc.). These carriers overcome the problems of bioactive substances such as low solubility, plasma half-life and bioavailability, and side effects, as well as providing controlled release, local delivery, and targeting. Lipid-based nanoparticular systems can be categorized into two basic classes, vesicular and non-vesicular. While liposomes are the most widely used vesicular structures, solid lipid nanoparticles and nano-structured lipid carriers are non-vesicular nanocarriers. These nanocarriers have many medical uses, such as cancer therapy, gene therapy, photodynamic therapy, treatment of infectious diseases and neurodegenerative diseases, vaccines, imaging, etc. It is essential that the synthesis method of lipid-based nanocarriers and the components from which they are composed are selected in accordance with the medical application area and characterization studies are carried out. In this article, liposomes, solid lipid nanoparticles and nano-structured lipid carriers will be discussed as lipid-based nanocarriers, synthesis and characterization methods will be emphasized and examples from medical applications will be given.