The discovery of new drug molecules in the current era has come with incidences of low water solubility. The less solubility of drug in water decreases oral bioavailability of the drug molecules. According to biopharmaceutics classification system, the drugs are categorized as per their solubility and membrane permeability. BCS class II shows high membrane penetration with low water solubility. The low water solubility of drugs presents a problem in their release when given orally. Formulation of SLN (solid lipid nanoparticle) is one of the leading approach to improve the poor water solubility of the drug. Its ability to encapsulate the drug in lipid matrix offers a precursor in advanced level of drug targeting. Itriconazole is widely used anti-fungal drug of BCS class II. In this study, the Itriconazole containing solid lipid nanoparticles were formulated by three methods. The method optimization was done on entrapment efficiency, size of particles and yield. The optimization of variables was done using response surface method using 33 factorial designs. In this technique, three factors were investigated, at two different levels, and formulation trials were carried out over 27 possible combinations. The surfactant concentration (A), drug: lipid ratio (B), stabilizer concentration (C) were considered independent variables whereas the size of particles (X) and polydispersity index (Y) were considered as dependent variables. The in-vitro release investigation of drug containing solid lipid nanoparticles was compared with pure drug suspension where the solid lipid nanoparticles showed extended release of drug up to 24 hours with 89.47 %.

solid lipid nanoparticles, BCS class II, Itriconazole, oral bioavailability, low water solubility.