Nanoparticles - A paradigm for topical drug delivery

Topical drug delivery is still a challenge due to the difficulties in controlling the active pharmaceutical ingredient (API) fate within the skin. Due to the safety of the component material and controlled release abilities, nanoparticles offer an excellent opportunity for the rational delivery of drugs to the desired target site and hence these carrier systems are effectively used for topical delivery of variety of active principles for both pharmaceutical as well as cosmetic purposes. Recently, solid lipid nanoparticles (SLNs) have shown a great potential as carriers for topical administration of active substances, principally owing to the possible targeting effect and controlled release in different skin strata. Also, nanostructured lipid carriers (NLCs) are a new type of topical delivery system offering improved performance in terms of drug loading and long-term stability with the ability to form highly concentrated dispersions. Another invention in the field of topical drug delivery is the use of micellar nanoparticles (MNPs) that offer a potentially fast and inexpensive pharmaceutical development model by using drugs already proven safe and effective to create new proprietary formulations. These novel drug delivery systems have gained much interest as they combine both the technology of lipid sciences and nanosciences, and hence may be better alternative carriers.