New Paradigms in the Treatment of Skin Infections: Lipid Nanocarriers to the Rescue

Abstract

Lipid nanocarriers can be an effective drug delivery system for the treatment of skin infections by overcoming the pitfalls associated with conventional topical formulations and offer various advantages such as improved skin permeability, targeted delivery, minimal side effects, increased solubility and bioavailability. The major hurdle in current scenario is antimicrobial resistance which has led to treatment failure and high mortality. Lipid nanocarriers, in this context can be instrumental in the successful eradication of drug-resistant strains in the skin by fusing with cell membrane of infectious microbes and providing an intimate contact and delivering the anti-infective agent directly to the target site. Various lipid-based carriers include liposomes, transferosomes, ethosomes, solid lipid nanoparticles, nanostructured lipid carriers, microemulsion and nanoemulsion. This book chapter summarizes in brief the skin structure and various type of skin infections and then comprehensively describes various lipid nanocarriers and their application in the treatment of cutaneous infections.