Pradhan Mantri Ujjawala Yojana (Adoption & Sustainability)

Lipid-based nanocarriers have emerged as one of the most versatile and biocompatible platforms in advanced drug delivery systems, offering significant advantages over traditional formulations. Their nanoscale structure enables the encapsulation of both hydrophilic and hydrophobic therapeutic agents, improving solubility, stability, and bioavailability while allowing precise delivery to targeted tissues. Various modern lipid nanocarrier systems such as liposomes, solid lipid nanoparticles (SLNs), nanostructured lipid carriers (NLCs), nanoemulsions, and ionizable lipid nanoparticles (LNPs) have gained enormous scientific attention due to their ability to protect sensitive molecules from degradation and enhance intracellular transport. The breakthrough success of LNP-based mRNA vaccines during the COVID-19 pandemic has further accelerated global research in this field, demonstrating their scalability, clinical relevance, and therapeutic potential. Current innovations focus on formulation optimization, surface modification for targeted delivery, stimuli-responsive release, and their application in gene therapy, gene editing, and combination therapeutics. Although challenges such as large-scale production, batch-to-batch consistency, and regulatory harmonization persist, rapid progress supported by computational modeling and AI-aided design is driving new possibilities. Lipid-based nanocarriers are expected to play a central role in future personalized and precision medicine, supporting safer, more effective, and disease-specific therapy. Overall, this review highlights their evolution, classifications, physicochemical characteristics, pharmacokinetics, clinical advancements, safety considerations, and future prospects in modern nanomedicine.