Skin delivery is an exciting and challenging field. It is a promising approach for effective drug delivery due to its ease of administration, ease of handling, high flexibility, controlled release, prolonged therapeutic effect, adaptability, and many other advantages. The main associated challenge, however, is low skin permeability. The skin is a healthy barrier that serves as the body’s primary defence mechanism against foreign particles. New advances in skin delivery (both topical and transdermal) depend on overcoming the challenges associated with drug molecule permeation and skin irritation. These limitations can be overcome by employing new approaches such as lipid nanosystems. Due to their advantages (such as easy scaling, low cost, and remarkable stability) these systems have attracted interest from the scientific community. However, for a successful formulation, several factors including particle size, surface charge, components, etc. have to be understood and controlled. This review provided a brief overview of the structure of the skin as well as the different pathways of nanoparticle penetration. In addition, the main factors influencing the penetration of nanoparticles have been highlighted. Applications of lipid nanosystems for dermal and transdermal delivery, as well as regulatory aspects, were critically discussed.

Development of nanomaterials for drug delivery has received considerable attention due to their potential for achieving on-target delivery to the diseased area while the surrounding healthy tissue is spared. Safe and efficiently delivered payloads have always been a challenge in pharmaceutics. Niosomes are self-assembled vesicular nanocarriers formed by hydration of a non-ionic surfactant, cholesterol or other molecules that combine to form a versatile drug delivery system with a variety of applications ranging from topical delivery to targeted delivery. Niosomes have advantages similar to those of liposomes with regards to their ability to incorporate both hydrophilic and hydrophobic payloads. Moreover, niosomes have simple manufacturing methods, low production cost and exhibit extended stability, consequently overcoming the major drawbacks associated with liposomes. This review provides a comprehensive summary of niosomal research to date, including the types of niosomes and critical material attributes (CMA) and critical process parameters (CPP) of niosomes and their effects on the critical quality attributes (CQA) of the technology. Furthermore, physical characterisation techniques of niosomes are provided. The review then highlights recent applications of specialised niosomes in drug delivery. Finally, limitations and prospects for this technology are discussed.

Nanoencapsulation is an approach to circumvent shortcomings such as reduced bioavailability, undesirable side effects, frequent dosing and unpleasant organoleptic properties of conventional drug delivery systems. The process of nanoencapsulation involves the use of biomaterials such as surfactants and/or polymers, often in combination with charge inducers and/or ligands for targeting. The biomaterials selected for nanoencapsulation processes must be as biocompatible as possible. The type(s) of biomaterials used for different nanoencapsulation approaches are highlighted and their use and applicability with regard to haemo- and, histocompatibility, cytotoxicity, genotoxicity and carcinogenesis are discussed.

Neurodegenerative disorders including Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s, and dementia are chronic and advanced diseases that are associated with loss of neurons and other related pathologies. Furthermore, these disorders involve structural and functional defections of the blood-brain barrier (BBB). Consequently, advances in medicines and therapeutics have led to a better appreciation of various pathways associated with the development of neurodegenerative disorders, thus focusing on drug discovery and research for targeted drug therapy to the central nervous system (CNS). Although the BBB functions as a shield to prevent toxins in the blood from reaching the brain, drug delivery to the CNS is hindered by its presence. Owing to this, various formulation approaches, including the use of lipid-based nanocarriers, have been proposed to address shortcomings related to BBB permeation in CNS-targeted therapy, thus showing the potential of these carriers for translation into clinical use. Nevertheless, to date, none of these nanocarriers has been granted market authorization following the successful completion of all stages of clinical trials. While the aforementioned benefits of using lipid-based carriers underscores the need to fast-track their translational development into clinical practice, technological advances need to be initiated to achieve appropriate capacity for scale-up and the production of affordable dosage forms.

Objectives: Vesicular drug delivery has become a useful approach for therapeutic administration of pharmaceutical compounds. Lipid vesicles have found application in membrane biology, immunology, genetic engineering and theragnostics. This review summarizes topical delivery, specifically dermal/transdermal, ocular and transungual, via these vesicles, including future formulation perspectives. Key findings: Liposomes and their subsequent derivatives, viz. niosomes, transferosomes, pharmacososmes and ethosomes, form a significant part of vesicular systems that have been successfully utilized in treating an array of topical disorders. These vesicles are thought to be a safe and effective mode of improving the delivery of lipophilic and hydrophilic drugs. Summary: Several drug molecules are available for topical disorders. However, physicochemical properties and undesirable toxicity have limited their efficacy. Vesicular delivery systems have the potential to overcome these shortcomings due to properties such as high biocompatibility, simplicity of surface modification and suitability as controlled delivery vehicles. However, incorporating these systems into environmentally responsive dispersants such as hydrogels, ionic liquids and deep eutectic solvents may further enhance therapeutic prowess of these delivery systems. Consequently, improved vesicular drug delivery can be achieved by considering combining some of these formulation approaches.

The antimicrobial drugs currently used for the management of tuberculosis (TB) exhibit poor bioavailability that necessitates prolonged treatment regimens and high dosing frequency to achieve optimal therapeutic outcomes. In addition, these agents cause severe adverse effects, as well as having detrimental interactions with other drugs used in the treatment of comorbid conditions such as HIV/AIDS. The challenges associated with the current TB regimens contribute to low levels of patient adherence and, consequently, the development of multidrug-resistant TB strains. This has led to the urgent need to develop newer drug delivery systems to improve the treatment of TB. Targeted drug delivery systems provide higher drug concentrations at the infection site, thus leading to reduced incidences of adverse effects. Lipid-based nanocarriers have proven to be effective in improving the solubility and bioavailability of antimicrobials whilst decreasing the incidence of adverse effects through targeted delivery. The potential application of lipid-based carriers such as liposomes, niosomes, solid lipid nanoparticles, nanostructured lipid carriers, nano and microemulsions, and self-emulsifying drug delivery systems for the treatment of TB is reviewed herein. The composition of the investigated lipid-based carriers, their characteristics, and their influence on bioavailability, toxicity, and sustained drug delivery are also discussed. Overall, lipid-based systems have shown great promise in anti-TB drug delivery applications. The summary of the reviewed data encourages future efforts to boost the translational development of lipid-based nanocarriers to improve TB therapy.