A lipid is a broad class of organic substances that dissolves readily in fats, oils, and alcohols but is insoluble in water. Lipids are necessary building blocks of living cells and perform several vital roles, such as

Energy Storage: Triglycerides and other lipids effectively store energy in adipose tissue.
Phospholipids and cholesterol are essential components of cell membranes that give them shape and fluidity.
Signaling Molecules: Steroid hormones and prostaglandins are examples of lipids that function as signaling molecules, controlling different physiological processes.
Insulation and Protection: Lipids act as insulation to keep the body at a constant temperature and safeguard important organs.

As they play a key role in our physiology their utilization in designing novel delivery modalities has become prominent. Lipid applications can be observed in pharmaceuticals, nutraceuticals & food industry as well.

Benefits of lipid-based formulations:

Enhanced Solubility: Lipid-based formulations, such as liposomal doxorubicin, improve the chemotherapeutic drug’s solubility, which lessens adverse effects and increases its efficacy. [1]
Protection and Stability: The lipid nanoparticles included in mRNA vaccines, including the COVID-19 and Pfizer-BioNTech vaccines, shield the mRNA from deterioration and guarantee its stability up until vaccination. [2]
Controlled Release: Medicines like ibuprofen can be delivered using solid lipid nanoparticles (SLNs), which offer controlled release and prolong the time that pain alleviation lasts. [3]
Targeted Delivery: Drugs like Doxil, which targets malignant tissues more efficiently than traditional formulations, can be precisely delivered to cancer cells using lipid-coated nanoparticles. [4]
Versatility: The therapeutic efficacy of hydrophobic medicines, such as paclitaxel (Taxol), can be increased by using lipid-based micelles to deliver the drug in a more soluble and bioavailable form. [5]
Customized Formulations: Drug delivery, such as insulin for diabetes control, can be optimized by customizing nanostructured lipid carriers (NLCs) for medications and therapeutic needs. [6]

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[1] Barenholz, Y. (2012). Doxil®—the first FDA-approved nano-drug: Lessons learned. Nature Reviews Drug Discovery, 9(12), 971-975. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jconrel.2012.03.020

[2] Linde Schoenmaker, Dominik Witzigmann, Jayesh A. Kulkarni, Rein Verbeke, Gideon Kersten, Wim Jiskoot, Daan J.A. Crommelin. (2021) mRNA-lipid nanoparticle COVID-19 vaccines: Structure and stability, International Journal of Pharmaceutics, 601, 120586. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijpharm.2021.120586

[3] Müller, R. H., Mäder, K., & Gohla, S. (2000). Solid lipid nanoparticles (SLN) for controlled drug delivery—a review of the state of the art. European Journal of Pharmaceutics and Biopharmaceutics, 50(1), 161-177. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/s0939-6411(00)00087-4

[4] Gabizon, A., Shmeeda, H., & Barenholz, Y. (2003). Pharmacokinetics of pegylated liposomal Doxorubicin: Review of animal and human studies. Clinical Pharmacokinetics, 42(5), 419-436. DOI: https://doi.org/10.2165/00003088-200342050-00002

[5] Pandita D, Ahuja A, Lather V, Benjamin B, Dutta T, Velpandian T, Khar RK. Development of lipid-based nanoparticles for enhancing the oral bioavailability of paclitaxel. AAPS PharmSciTech. 2011 Jun;12(2):712-22. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1208%2Fs12249-011-9636-8

[6] Ilyas U, Asif M, Wang M, Altaf R, Zafar H, Faran Ashraf Baig MM, Paiva-Santos AC, Abbas M. Nanostructured Lipid Carrier-Based Delivery of Pioglitazone for Treatment of Type 2 Diabetes. Front Pharmacol. 2022 Jul 12;13:934156. DOI: https://doi.org/10.3389%2Ffphar.2022.934156