Preparation, characterization and in vitro cytotoxicity of Fenofibrate and Nabumetone loaded solid lipid nanoparticles

There is an increasing attention on solid lipid nanoparticles (SLNs) due to their high biocompatibility and ability to enhance bioavailability for poorly water-soluble drugs. Preparation of SLNs that are capable of high drug loading and sustained drug release through hot melt sonication method is reported here. SLNs of palmitic acid and stearic acid loaded with poorly water-soluble drugs, viz. fenofibrate (FF) and nabumetone (NBT) having spherical morphology and average particle size below 200 nm were prepared. Poloxamer 407 and pluronic® F-127 were used as surfactants. Particle size and spherical morphology was confirmed by dynamic light scattering, field emission scanning electron microscopy, transmission electron microscopy, and atomic force microscopy. The chemical, crystal, and thermal properties of SLNs were studied by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction, and differential scanning calorimetry, respectively. The palmitic acid-poloxamer 407 SLNs could entrap upto 13.8% FF with 80% entrapment efficiency while the stearic acid-pluronic® F-127 SLNs entrapped 13.6% NBT with 89% entrapment efficiency. The drug loaded in SLNs showed controlled release up to 3 days as confirmed by in-vitro drug release profile. Moreover, the drug loaded SLNs did not show any toxicity on macrophage cell line proving the use of these formulations as control drug delivery vehicles for the studied drugs.