Buparvaquone Nanostructured Lipid Carrier: Development of an Affordable Delivery System for the Treatment of Leishmaniases

Buparvaquone (BPQ), a veterinary drug, was formulated as nanostructured lipid carriers (NLC) for leishmaniases treatment. The formulation design addressed poor water solubility of BPQ and lack of human drug delivery system. The DSC/TG and microscopy methods were used for solid lipids screening. Softisan® 154 showed highest BPQ solubility in both methods. The BPQ solubility in liquid lipids using HPLC revealed Miglyol® 812 as the best option. Response surface methodology (RSM) was used to identify the optimal Softisan154 : Miglyol 812 ratios (7 : 10 to 2 : 1) and Kolliphor® P188 and Tween® 80 concentration (>3.0% w/w) aiming forz-average in the range of 100–300 nm for macrophage delivery. The NLC obtained by high-pressure homogenization showed lowz-averages (z-average. Therefore, these drug delivery systems have the potential to improve the availability of affordable medicines due to the low cost of raw materials, using well established, reliable, and feasible scale-up technology.