ABSTRACT:
Cubosomes are nanostructured lipid carriers that are bicontinuous cubic liquid crystalline phases. They provide an innovative method of delivery of advanced drugs. Cubosomes have an inner honeycomb structure unlike conventional liposomes. The material is permeated by two distinct water channels and divided by a lipid bilayer. The structure increases the surface area and the amount of drug to be loaded in the cubosomes. This review explores the various cubic phase’s symmetries (Pn3m, Ia3d, Im3m) and its effect on drug-release kinetics. It makes a comparison on how to prepare it, where high-energy top-down homogenization is superseded by scalable, solvent-free bottom-up and microfluidic methods. The latest developments in surface functionalization to target delivery in the fields of oncology, ophthalmology, and dermatology are mentioned. The paper has addressed issues surrounding cubosomes in clinical applications, such as the fact that non-lamellar structures do not have standard stability tests and also regulatory challenges with the use of Generally Recognized As Safe (GRAS) excipients. The review proposes a landscape of balancing chemicals to the patient and promoting the use of cubosomes by synthesizing data on preclinical research and insights on the emerging clinical trials, making them a powerful instrument to adopt as part of precision medicine.