Table 1.

Summary of main characteristics of common lipid-based nanoparticles.

Particle Type	Composition	Shape/ Size	Preparation	Advantages	Drawbacks
Liposomes	Phospholipid, cholesterol, essential oils [31].	Spherical, 10–1000 nm	Mechanical dispersion, Solvent dispersion, Detergent removal	Drug protection, controlled release, solubility enhancement for hydrophobic therapeutic agents, high bioavailability and biodistribution	Not crossing the stratum corneum barrier, rigid structure [31]
Niosomes	Cholesterol, non-ionic surfactants [31]	Spherical , 10–1000 nm	Sonication, micro-fluidization, ether injection method, bubble method	Targeting to specific sites, enhanced stability and longer shelf life than liposomes	Drug leakage, particle aggregation [30], high production costs and the scarcity of FDA-approved polymers [29]
Transfersomes	Phospholipids and edge activators [31]	Spherical , <300 nm	Rotary film evaporation, reverse-phase evaporation, vortexing sonication	Higher penetration, good stability	Highly prone to oxidative degradation, high cost and impurity of natural phospholipids
Solid lipid nanoparticles (SLNs)	Solid fats, surfactants [32]	Spherical, 50–1000 nm	Micro emulsification, sonication, high pressure homogenization [27,33]	Biocompatible and biodegradable ingredients, high cell uptake, good protection of drugs in acidic pH, long shelf life, ease of drug entrapment [32]	Gelling tendency [29]
Nanostructured lipid carriers (NLCs)	Solid and liquid lipids (fats and oils), surfactants [32]			All SLN’s advantages but higher drug encapsulation, more sustainable drug release, better diuretic activity and fewer drug lost within storage time [32]	Optimization required of the ratio of solid/liquid lipids