ABSTRACT
Lymphatic routes provide successful delivery options for therapeutic molecules for the management of cancer and human immunodeficiency virus disease (HIV). These days, one of the prime foci of research is the development of potent drugs. Increasing drug potency, however, is known to make the design of dosage form relatively more intricate, especially when delivered orally, thus requiring modification(s) in the erstwhile conventional oral delivery systems. Undesirable increases in the logarithm of octanol/water partition coefficient (log P) as a function of lipophilicity, and in molecular weight, coupled with poor water solubility of potent drugs have coerced researchers to search for alternative routes of drug delivery. The lymphatic route of drug targeting, in this context, is considered as a very useful, effective and industrially acceptable route of drug administration. The major purpose of lymphatic targeting is to provide an effective anti-HIV treatment and anticancer chemotherapy. Lipidic nanocarriers like liposomes, nanoemulsions and solid lipid nanoparticles are found to be promising nanocarriers for lymphatic targeting for a vast variety of therapeutic agents. This book chapter presents a holistic compilation of lipid-based nanoformulations employed for lymphatic delivery via various routes. Attempts have also been made to cover the vital in vivo and in vitro models used to study drug transport through lymphatic system.
