Current advances in niosomes applications for drug delivery and cancer treatment
Ali Moammeri, Masoumeh Mirzaei Chegeni, Hamidreza Sahrayi, Robabehbeygom Ghafelehbashi, Farkhondeh Memarzadeh, Afsoun Mansouri, Iman Akbarzadeh, Maryam Sadat Abtahi, Faranak Hejabi, Qun Ren
Abstract
The advent of nanotechnology has led to an increase in interest in nanocarriers as a delivery system for drugs that is efficient and safe. There have been many studies addressing nano-scale vesicular systems such as liposomes but niosome is a newer generation of vesicular nanocarriers. The niosomes provide a multilamellar carrier for lipophilic and hydrophilic bioactive substances in the self-assembled vesicle, which are composed of non-ionic surfactants in conjunction with cholesterol or other amphiphilic molecules. Non-ionic surfactant vesicles, simply known as niosomes, can be utilized in a wide variety of technological applications. In addition to accommodating both water-soluble and lipid-soluble drug molecules, niosomes may also serve as a versatile device for a variety of applications. As an alternative to liposomes, niosomes can be considered more economically, chemically, and physically stable. There are simple methods of preparing niosomes that can be used in pharmaceutical technology, and the methods can be based on widely used surfactants. Many reports have discussed niosomes in terms of their physicochemical properties and applications as drug delivery systems. As drug carriers, nano-sized niosomes expand the horizons of pharmacokinetics, decreasing toxicity, enhancing drug solvability and bioavailability, reducing fabrication costs, and increasing storage stability. In this review, we discuss the components and fabrication methods of niosomes, as well as their functionalization, characterization, administration routes, and applications in cancer, gene delivery, and natural product delivery, limitations and challenges in the development of niosomes, niosome and other nanocarriers, the future perspective of niosome.