PRODUCTION AND CHARACTERIZATION OF MAGNETIC LIPID NANOPARTICLES: A PRELIMINARY STUDY

: In the present contribution, we present a preliminary study concerning the production of magnetic lipid nanoparticles. Magnetic nanoparticles (MN) of maghemite were obtained by a precipitation method; afterwards, different experimental protocols and lipid mixtures were used to produce MN-containing lipid nanoparticles, namely solid lipid nanoparticles (SLN) and nanostructured lipid carriers (NLC). After production, the MN-containing SLN and NLC dispersions were characterized in terms of size, morphology, stability during time, X-ray diffraction and magnetic properties.This study confirms that the incorporation of MN in lipid nanoparticles is possible. Remarkable results were obtained with the production of magnetic SLN. Moreover, their physicochemical and magnetic properties suggest their possible use in different fields, both in therapy and in diagnostics.