Quillaja saponin: A prospective emulsifier for the preparation of solid lipid nanoparticles.

Quillaja saponin (QS) is a non-ionic amphiphilic surfactant of natural origin. In the present study, we evaluated its potential to form solid lipid nanoparticles (SLNs) in the presence of stearic acid (SA) as a lipid carrier and imatinib mesylate (IM) as a model drug. IM loaded solid lipid nanoparticles (IMSLNs) were prepared using the hot homogenisation method. Characterisation of IMSLNs revealed that they were quasi-spherical in shape, neutrally charged and 143.5-641.9nm in size. Haemolysis, a toxicity issue of QS was not observed in SLNs. Comparative in vitro cytotoxicity analyses performed in human breast cancer cell line MCF7 revealed that IMSLNs were more toxic than IM. On the other hand, in vitro viability studies in the RAW264.7 cell line did not show any sign of toxicity by IMSLNs. Our results indicate that QS hold great potential in nano drug delivery as an emulsifier.