Chen Yulin, Ma Ping, Gui Shuangying
Department of Pharmaceutics, College of Pharmacy, Anhui University of Chinese Medicine, Hefei, Anhui 230031, China.
Global Pharmaceutical Research and Development, Hospira Inc., 1776 North Centennial Drive, McPherson, KS 67460, USA.
Biomed Res Int. 2014;2014:815981. doi: 10.1155/2014/815981. Epub 2014 Jun 5.
Lipids have been widely used as main constituents in various drug delivery systems, such as liposomes, solid lipid nanoparticles, nanostructured lipid carriers, and lipid-based lyotropic liquid crystals. Among them, lipid-based lyotropic liquid crystals have highly ordered, thermodynamically stable internal nanostructure, thereby offering the potential as a sustained drug release matrix. The intricate nanostructures of the cubic phase and hexagonal phase have been shown to provide diffusion controlled release of active pharmaceutical ingredients with a wide range of molecular weights and polarities. In addition, the biodegradable and biocompatible nature of lipids demonstrates the minimum toxicity and thus they are used for various routes of administration. Therefore, the research on lipid-based lyotropic liquid crystalline phases has attracted a lot of attention in recent years. This review will provide an overview of the lipids used to prepare cubic phase and hexagonal phase at physiological temperature, as well as the influencing factors on the phase transition of liquid crystals. In particular, the most current research progresses on cubic and hexagonal phases as drug delivery systems will be discussed.
脂质已被广泛用作各种药物递送系统的主要成分，如脂质体、固体脂质纳米粒、纳米结构脂质载体和基于脂质的溶致液晶。其中，基于脂质的溶致液晶具有高度有序、热力学稳定的内部纳米结构，因此具有作为药物缓释基质的潜力。已表明立方相和六方相的复杂纳米结构能够实现对具有广泛分子量和极性的活性药物成分的扩散控制释放。此外，脂质的生物可降解性和生物相容性表明其毒性最小，因此可用于各种给药途径。因此，近年来对基于脂质的溶致液晶相的研究引起了广泛关注。本综述将概述在生理温度下用于制备立方相和六方相的脂质，以及液晶相变的影响因素。特别地，将讨论立方相和六方相作为药物递送系统的最新研究进展。
