- Life & Medical Sciences
Dr. Itziar Alkorta
Phone: 946015424
email: itzi.alkorta@ehu.eus
Drug carriers can improve the delivery and efficiency of many existing and new drugs. Among the different strategies for drug delivery, lipid nanostructures such as liposomes and solid lipid nanoparticles can offer a new avenue of solutions to improve the treatment of different diseases applying tailor-made drugs. Liposomes are vesicles made of a lipid bilayer that can be filled with hydrophilic drugs. Nowadays liposomes are used as versatile carriers depending on their structural parameters such as size and lamellarity [from multi-lamellar large vesicles (MLV) (>0.5μm) to small uni-lamellar vesicles (SUV) (30-100 nm)].
Solid Lipid Nanoparticles are spherical nanostructures (80-100 nm) made of a lipid core matrix that can incorporate drugs of lipophilic or hydrophilic nature. Since they are solid at body temperature a controlled drug delivery can be achieved.
These nanostructures can be composed of naturally-derived lipids minimizing the toxicity of some drugs. They can be administrated orally, parenterally and topically as well as used in cosmetic and hair technologies.
Applications of interest
- Targeted delivery by functionalization with specific molecules
- Increased stability of the drug
- Improve solubility of the drug
- Reduction of the toxicity of the drug
Unidad de Biofísica (Biophysics Unit)
Campus Universitario de Leioa (University of the Basque Country UPV/EHU)
Barrio Sarriena s/n
48940 Leioa, Vizcaya (Spain)