THERAPEUTIC APPLICATIONS OF SOLID LIPID NANOPARTICLES IN GASTROINTESTINAL CANCER: CURRENT TRENDS AND FUTURE PROSPECTS

Abstract

Gastrointestinal cancer is one of the main cause of deaths worldwide. Recent advancement shave been made in the treatment and diagnosis of cancer. Nanotechnology offers a promising pathway in the cure of cancer. Among various nanoparticles, solid lipid nanoparticles have emerged as a possible nanocarriers in targeted drug delivery, controlled drug release, better drug loading capacity and reduced side effects. SLNs have enormous potential to find application in different fields, including, cosmetics, drugs, biomedical research or any-related science fields. Solid lipid nanoparticles can enclose lipophilic and hydrophilic drugs within their crystal core or in the surrounding matrix. Most SLN drug delivery systems are capable of overcoming abnormal tumor vascularization and remain stable under harsh external environments after administration via oral, topical, or parenteral routes, as presented in this review. This review highlights several drug-delivery SLNs that enhance therapeutic efficacy by reducing dosing frequency and reducing toxicity to non-targeted cells. This is achieved through site-specific drug delivery, after relevant formulation requirements are fulfilled. SLN have potential to carry out drugs and improve drug absorption in gastrointestinal tumor cells, thereby protecting chemotherapeutic agents from enzymatic degradation, and promoting accumulation at tumor sites via the enhanced permeability and retention (EPR) effect.SLN are modified with various surfactants that have shown to improve their treatment efficacy. Furthermore, a number of SLN based formulations have shown to exhibit higher effectiveness in preclinical models of gastric, colorectal and pancreatic cancer. However, they have certain limitations such as hydrophobicity and drug stability issues which can be overcome by PEGylation of SLN. Hence, further research needs to be carried to incorporate multiple targeting surfactants with less toxicity. Moreover, entrapment of molecules with hydrophilic properties in SLN is a major challenge that needs to be explored. This review focuses on the various applications of solid lipid nanoparticles in the treatment of Gastrointestinal cancer.