The main research focus of the group is the development and characterization of aqueous colloidal lipid dispersions as drug carriers. Nanoparticulare lipid structures can help to make poorly water soluble drugs applicable for drug therapy, e.g., by the intravenous route. The particles are, however, also interesting candidates for other ways of administration, for instance for ocular or dermal delivery. The carrier systems of highest interest for our group are solid lipid nanoparticles, colloidal lipid emulsions, supercooled smectic lipid nanoparticles and colloidal dispersions of cubic phase. We are particularly interested in the influence of the small size on the state and properties of the nanoparticles as well as in correlations between the physicochemical chracteristics of the nanoparticles and their pharmaceutical potential. Extensive investigations on the ultrastructure of the carrier systems, e.g. by thermoanalytical methods, X-ray structure analysis and electron microscopy are thus combined with studies on drug release from colloidal carriers and their interactions with cell culture models.
Publications from research group Bunjes