Multifunctional Nanostructured Lipid Carriers: Preparation and Characterizations

Traditional chemotherapeutic drugs are less effective against glioma, owing to tumour resistance and the blood-brain barrier. In order to maximize their anti-tumour effect, multifunctional nanostructured lipid carriers (NLCs) were prepared and their physico-chemical characterizations are tested in this study. The obtained temozolomide/indocyanine green NLCs (TMZ/ICG-NLCs) possess spherical shapes with a particle size of 155.2 +/- 0.72 nm. The encapsulation efficiency of TMZ and ICG is 41.61% +/- 4.74 and 20.46% +/- 3.54, respectively. TMZ and ICG in NLCs are in an amorphous state and an interaction may occur between the lipids and drugs. TMZ and ICG can be released sequentially within 140 h with a much higher solubility and dissolution rate than the original ones. The excellent physico-chemical properties indicate that TMZ/ICG-NLCs are potential candidates for the treatment of glioma.