Liquid-Crystal and Nano-Crystal Technology for Solubilization of Poorly Water Soluble Drugs

Of all the pharmaceutical compounds, about 40% are considered poorly water soluble and hence, the development of efficacious formulation is being halted. It has been shown that a drug should have a minimum aqueous solubility of 1% to avoid bioavailability problems. During preformulation study, sufficient time should be invested in order to improve the solubility of these kinds of drug. At the very beginning when new compounds are screened for bioactivity, it becomes an obstacle for the study. Some technology exists for the enhancement of drug solubility but every technology has some degree of limitations. Hence, there is a need for smart approaches to make such poorly soluble drugs bioavailable. The purpose of this review is to discuss briefly the updates in the liquid crystal and nanocrystal technology for the solubilization of insoluble or poorly soluble drugs.