Innovative Niosomal technologies: Advantages, challenges and future trends

Noisomes are tiny, bubble-like vesicles made from non-ionic surfactants, and like liposomes, they have a bilayer structure, which allows them to carry both water-soluble and fat-soluble drugs, either in their inner watery core or within their lipid bilayer. They are being widely explored as a cost-effective, non-biological alternative to liposomes and as drug carriers that can influence how medications are distributed and released in the body. What makes niosomes particularly valuable is that they offer all the benefits of liposomes such as controlled drug release and targeted delivery at a lower cost. They are also more stable, easier to store, and do not rely on phospholipids, which can be expensive. Due to these advantages, niosomes have been extensively studied for use in treating cancer, viral infections, and bacterial diseases.

To create noisome, a specific type of surfactant is combined with water. Cholesterol is often added to strengthen the vesicle walls and minimize leakage, while stabilizers help prevent the vesicles from clumping together by creating repulsive or protective barriers. Advancements in niosomes include discomes, proniosomes, elastic and polyhedral niosomes. Among these, proniosomes are superior over other vesicular carriers. Proniosomes are dry formulations of water-soluble nonionic surfactant coated carrier system which immediately forms niosomes upon hydration. They have the capability to overcome the instability problems associated with niosomes and liposomes and have the potential to improve solubility, bioavailability, and absorption of various drugs. Furthermore, they offer versatile drug delivery concept for enormous number of hydrophilic and hydrophobic drugs. They have the potential to deliver drugs effectively through different routes at specific site of action to achieve controlled release action and reduce toxic effects associated with drugs.