ABSTRACT
Lipid-based nanocarriers have been the topic of investigation in various arenas, including the medical field. Various technologies have been in usage in proving the effective treatment of diseases and in diagnosing and analysing the same. Understanding the importance of the diagnosis of the medical problem to offer better and effective treatment is often seen as an important step. There are several efficient technologies for disease diagnosis such as MRI, CT, PET, and X-rays, but scientists are interested in further enhancing the diagnostic capabilities to visualize the disease patterns better. This chapter encapsulates the advantages and disadvantages of various types of the lipid nanocarriers, including liposomes, nanocapsules, nanoemulsions (Figure 5.2), SNEDDS, SLNs, and NLCs and their efficiency in carrying the therapeutic drugs. Investigations have also been conducted toward applying those abilities of the lipid nanocarriers to deliver the diagnostic agents (contrast agents) for available technologies. Thus, this chapter emphasizes the application of lipid-based nanocarriers used in the simultaneous delivery of both therapeutic and diagnostic agents using a theranostic approach. Making note of the previous research in this field, there could be a significant potential in the approaches in future disease treatment and drug delivery.
