What role might nanolipogels play in enhancing drug delivery?

Abstract

<h4>Introduction</h4>The ideal Drug delivery systems (DDS) should be able to effectively and efficiently deliver the drugs to the targeted tissue or cells, releasing them at a desired rate while retaining their bioactivity. However, most DDS have some drawbacks, such as burst release, limited drug accumulation in the target organs, as well as off-target toxicity.<h4>Areas covered</h4>Nanolipogels or NLGs, which consist of a crosslinked core surrounded by a lipid membrane, are continuing to find applications in sustained drug delivery. The core is usually made of a polymer that is chemically crosslinked via the use of UV light or via ionic crosslinking. Studies have shown that varying the crosslink density of the core accomplishes two things: preventing leakage of cargo from the core; and entry into target cells without collapse of the NLG. Applications such as sustained siRNA delivery as well as targeted CRISPR delivery have been reported.<h4>Expert opinion</h4>To date no clinical trial has been reported for NanoLipoGels, and the drug/gene delivery applications are currently in the pre-clinical stage. More work directed toward selective targeting using NLGs is warranted, as is a more systematic approach toward the mechanism of cellular uptake. These foundational research steps are essential for advancing the technologies and accelerating the translation to the clinical stage.