Diabetes mellitus represents a global health crisis affecting over 422 million people worldwide, with approximately 75 million requiring daily insulin injections. Current subcutaneous insulin delivery methods suffer from poor patient compliance, injection-site reactions, and risk of hypoglycemic episodes. Vesicular drug delivery systems, particularly liposomes and niosomes, have emerged as promising alternatives for enhanced diabetes management. This comprehensive review examines the formulation strategies, optimization parameters, and comparative efficacy of liposomal and niosomal systems for diabetic drug delivery. Recent advances in nanotechnology have enabled the development of pH-responsive, glucose-sensitive formulations that offer sustained release profiles and improved bioavailability. Comparative studies demonstrate that while both systems show significant therapeutic potential, niosomes exhibit superior stability against enzymatic degradation, with advantages in terms of chemical stability and cost-effectiveness. The optimization of phospholipid-to-cholesterol ratios (typically 5:1 to 9:1) and drug-to-lipid ratios (1:5 to 1:10) significantly influences encapsulation efficiency and release kinetics. Current clinical developments, including oral insulin formulations reaching human trials in 2025, highlight the translational potential of these technologies. This review provides crucial insights for researchers and clinicians working toward next-generation diabetes therapies.
Jaiswal et al. (Wed,) studied this question.