V3I10P51

Niosomes: A Novel Drug Delivery System

Shaik Shabu¹*, L Mohan Krishna², Shaik Ramzan Bee¹, Shaik Shabana Tabassum¹, Syed Afshan Roohi¹

Abstract

Niosomes are vesicular structures created from non-ionic surfactants and cholesterol. Their bilayer membrane allows encapsulation of both hydrophilic drugs in the aqueous core and hydrophobic drugs in the membrane. The carriers were subject of investigations for their ability to improve the stability of encapsulated molecules and control their release rate for various routes of administration, including oral, topical, transdermal, ocular, and parenteral. The commonly used methods of niosomes production are thin-film hydration, ether injection, sonication, and proniosome hydration. The properties which are determined for the produced vesicular structures include particle size distribution, polydispersity index, zeta potential, entrapment efficiency, drug release characteristics, and stability during storage. Niosomes appear to offer reasonable potential in drug delivery due to variety of administration routes and relatively low production costs compared to phospholipid liposomes. However, the tendency to aggregate, possible drug leakage, and inconsistent performance at higher scales require thorough evaluation of each individual drug and administration route. Keywords: Niosomes; non-ionic surfactants; cholesterol; vesicular carriers; drug delivery; controlled release.

Keywords:

Niosomes; Non-ionic surfactants; Cholesterol; Drug delivery; Controlled release