Nanostructured Lipid Carriers as Potential Drug Delivery Systems for Skin disorders.

BACKGROUND Skin diseases affect all the age groups of people and have impact on patients' physical, mental and emotional status. Conventional topical preparation are limited with its efficacy due to low permeation, frequent application and poor adherence to the therapy for prolong time. OBJECTIVE The objective of this review article is to address the emerging trends of nanotechnology derived lipidic carrier systems for effective treatment for skin disorders. METHODOLOGY Various research and review articles from reputed international journals were referred and compiled. RESULTS AND DISCUSSION Topical drug delivery systems are found to be more effective than oral and parenteral drug delivery systems for treating skin diseases due to targeted localized applications with reduced side effects. Lipid-based nanoparticles have been found to have the potential in treating skin diseases due to the biocompatibility and the versatility of the lipids. Nanostructured lipid carriers (NLCs) have gained much attention in treating skin diseases due to improved stability of the drugs, enhanced skin permeation, retention, and better therapeutic efficacy. The review summarizes the NLCs characteristics and their application for topical delivery of various therapeutics in skin disorders. NLCs have shown great potential in the effective drug delivery for the treatment of psoriasis, dermatitis, bacterial infections, and skin cancer. Its cosmetic application has opened new area for skincare. Further, safety and clinical status revealed its future commercial acceptability. CONCLUSION NLCs have been found as effective lipid nanocarriers for delivery of topical therapeutics.