Formulation and in vitro characterization of quercetin loaded solid lipid nanoparticles

Abstract

Quercetin is a common bioflavonoid with various potent therapeutic effects such as antioxidant anti-inflammatory and anticancer activity. However, the use of quercetin is limited owing to its low water solubility, limiting its oral bioavailability and in vivo beneficial functions. To enhance the bioavailability of quercetin, solid lipid nanoparticles of the quercetin were developed using the ultra-speed homogenization technique. Stearic acid has been used in the formulation as a solidlipid matrix and Tween-80 as a surfactant, comprising the aqueous part of the formulation. 16 different types of formulations (labelled as F1-F16) were prepared and optimized by varying the amount of stearic acid, Tween 80 and rotational speeds of the homogenizer. Among the 16 formulations, F5 formulation (composition: 25 mg of quercetin drug, 0.5 gm of stearic acid, 2% of Tween 80) and was found to be the optimum formulation with the highest encapsulation efficiency of 80% and further displaying a sustained release profile following a 2-hour dissolution study. The present study suggests that high-speed homogenization technique is a suitable method to develop solid-lipid nanoparticles of Quercetin with high entrapment efficiency. Further work is required to determine the efficacy of the formulation in terms of particle size, zeta potential, release profile, morphology using scanning electron microscopy, in vitro antioxidant study, antiinflammatory study, and bioequivalence study in animal models.