NIOSOMES AS VERSATILE NANOCARRIERS: FROM DESIGN TO THERAPEUTIC APPLICATIONS

Bhavin D. Pandya* and Pranali K. Panchal

ABSTRACT

Niosomes are a novel drug delivery system that allows for sustained, controlled, and targeted drug delivery, addressing the disadvantages associated with liposomes. The chemical stability of niosomes is a key factor, with a focus on biodegradability, biocompatibility, low production cost, easy storage, handling, and low toxicity. Structurally, niosomes can be unilamellar, oligolamellar, or multilamellar, providing a bilayered structure that can encapsulate both hydrophilic and hydrophobic drugs. Niosomes can improve solubility, oral bioavailability of poorly soluble drugs, enhance drug skin permeability, increase stability, and improve drug performance at the site of action. Various studies have demonstrated the efficacy of niosomes as drug carriers in treating fungal diseases, wound healing, rheumatoid arthritis, psoriasis, and other inflammation-related disorders. Nowadays, disease-modifying anti-rheumatic drugs and biologic DMARDs (bDMARDs) are recommended for the treatments of rheumatoid arthritis. The poor aqueous solubility or permeability causes the limited oral bioavailability of synthetic DMARDs, while the high molecular weights along with the bulky structures of bDMARDs have posed few obstacles in their drug delivery. These challenges can be addressed through the development of nano formulations like cubosomes, nanospheres, nanoemulsions, solid lipid nanoparticles, nano micelles, liposome, niosomes, and nanostructured lipid carrier.

Keywords: Niosomes, Nanocarriers, Design, Therapeutic Applications.