About this Research Topic
Pharmaceutical nanocarriers are promoting a paradigm shift within pharmaceutical sciences and pharmaceutical applications since their use can considerably change a drug pharmacokinetics, delaying in vivo elimination and promoting specific biodistribution (depending on a wide range of factors including the disease pathophysiology, surface decoration, size, and smart design).
Liposomes have been used in the food and cosmetic industry for a long time and have since been clinically applied in pharmaceuticals. However, the main drawback of liposomes is their thermodynamic instability, which shortens their shelf-life and generates unstable fissionable structures and/or sometimes changes of chemical composition with time. Changes in liposome dimensions and chemical composition could produce drug leaks from the lipid structure which affects the therapeutic efficiency, making the release kinetics unpredictable and promoting fast elimination in the body by both enzymatic and the reticuloendothelial systems.
A more recent evolution of lipid nanostructures for drug delivery has led to the rapid emergence of solid lipid nanoparticles (SLNs) and nanostructured lipid-carriers (NLC). These are colloidal nanoparticle solid carriers in the range of room to body temperatures, with typical diameters of 50 to 1,000 nm and which are composed of biocompatible solid lipids stabilized by aqueous surfactants. Furthermore, the addition of different molecules such as carbohydrates and proteins makes the solid lipid nanoparticles a tailorable structure for a myriad of roles in many fields.
In this Research Topic, we welcome Original Research and Review articles which deal with new developments in this field such as:
• Quality-by-design formulation of lipid nanoparticles, to study and screen the optimal parameters for a drug-loaded polymeric nanoparticle.
• Evaluation of drug release from lipid nanoparticles.
• Interactions of drug-loaded lipid nanoparticles with the biological environment using in vitro and in vivo models of disease.
• Obtention and characterization of hybrid systems (e.g. polymer/lipid systems).
Articles including some level of in vitro or in vivo validation of the obtained nanoparticles are most welcome. All studies must contribute a mechanistic understanding of the relationship between molecular structure and biological activity or mode of action to fit within the scope of the Medicinal and Pharmaceutical Chemistry specialty section of the journal.
Liposomes have been used in the food and cosmetic industry for a long time and have since been clinically applied in pharmaceuticals. However, the main drawback of liposomes is their thermodynamic instability, which shortens their shelf-life and generates unstable fissionable structures and/or sometimes changes of chemical composition with time. Changes in liposome dimensions and chemical composition could produce drug leaks from the lipid structure which affects the therapeutic efficiency, making the release kinetics unpredictable and promoting fast elimination in the body by both enzymatic and the reticuloendothelial systems.
A more recent evolution of lipid nanostructures for drug delivery has led to the rapid emergence of solid lipid nanoparticles (SLNs) and nanostructured lipid-carriers (NLC). These are colloidal nanoparticle solid carriers in the range of room to body temperatures, with typical diameters of 50 to 1,000 nm and which are composed of biocompatible solid lipids stabilized by aqueous surfactants. Furthermore, the addition of different molecules such as carbohydrates and proteins makes the solid lipid nanoparticles a tailorable structure for a myriad of roles in many fields.
In this Research Topic, we welcome Original Research and Review articles which deal with new developments in this field such as:
• Quality-by-design formulation of lipid nanoparticles, to study and screen the optimal parameters for a drug-loaded polymeric nanoparticle.
• Evaluation of drug release from lipid nanoparticles.
• Interactions of drug-loaded lipid nanoparticles with the biological environment using in vitro and in vivo models of disease.
• Obtention and characterization of hybrid systems (e.g. polymer/lipid systems).
Articles including some level of in vitro or in vivo validation of the obtained nanoparticles are most welcome. All studies must contribute a mechanistic understanding of the relationship between molecular structure and biological activity or mode of action to fit within the scope of the Medicinal and Pharmaceutical Chemistry specialty section of the journal.
Important Note: All contributions to this Research Topic must be within the scope of the section and journal to which they are submitted, as defined in their mission statements. Frontiers reserves the right to guide an out-of-scope manuscript to a more suitable section or journal at any stage of peer review.
