Characterization of cochleate nanoparticles for delivery of the anti-asthma drug beclomethasone dipropionate

Abstract

Cochleates are an exciting new class of nanocarriers derived from multilamellar liposomes. They have a “cigerette like” structures in which the phospholipid bilayers are joined together by calcium ion bridges making them more stable than liposomes and thus less prone to degradation. Cochleates offer potential for use in drug delivery. They have never been used previously for pulmonary drug delivery and formed the basis of this study with the aim of delivering beclomethasone dipropionate (BDP) to the lungs for the treatment of asthma. Cochleates have been synthesized and characterized using a variety of techniques. Their particle size, structure, zeta potential, and aerosol droplet size have been presented. Sonication was used to control the size of liposomes and cochleates which decreased dramatically from microns to the nanometer range within 6.5 min. Zeta potential of cochleates was found to be −60 mV to compared with −4 mV and −70 mV for SPC and SPS liposomes, respectively and decreased slightly after nebulization.