Lipid-based nanocarriers for drug delivery and targeting: a patent survey of methods of production and characterization

Abstract

Among the colloidal vectors proposed for the controlled delivery and targeting of drugs and other biologically active compounds, lipid-based nanocarriers are acquiring an increasing role due to a number of peculiar technological and physical features. Solid lipid nanoparticles, lipid nanocapsules, nanostructured lipid carriers, and drug–lipid conjugates are all examples of how it can be possible to combine the properties of the more acknowledged liposomal systems, such as biocompatibility and biodegradability, with the stability and compositional flexibility, distinctive of polymeric nanosystems. This article introduces recent patents, filed in years 2007–2013, that deal with novel or amended methods of production of the various types of lipid-based nanocarriers. Although a significant gap still remains between basic research and patenting activity in this field, many of the proposed methods can attain an industrial value. Furthermore, the critical analysis of these patents further supports the position that a general revision of patenting systems at an international level would be necessary for nanosized pharmaceutical systems.