An Overview a Novel Trend in Drug Delivery:Niosomes

Niosomes are non-ionic surfactant formation of vesicles by hydrating mixture of cholesterol and other lipids with or without incorporation. They are vesicular system that can be used as carriers of amphiphilic and lipophilic drugs. Niosomes are biodegradable, biocompatible, nonimmunogenic and exhibit flexibility in their structural characterization. Niosomes are preferred over liposomes because the former exhibit high chemical stability and economy. Different novel approaches used for delivering these drugs include liposomes, microspheres, nanotechnology, microemulision antibody loaded drug delivery, implantable pumps and niosomes. Niosomes are widely studied as an alternative to liposomes. They improve the therapeutic performance of the drug molecules by delayed clearance from the circulation, protecting drug from biological environment and restricting effects to target cells. This review article focuses on the advantages, disadvantages, preparation methods, factors affecting, characterizations, invitro methods, drug release kinetics, and application of niosomes.