Solid lipid nanoparticles (SLNs) and nanostructured lipid carriers (NLCs) comprise a category of versatile drug delivery systems that have been used in the biomedical field for > 25 years. SLNs and NLCs have been used for the treatment of various diseases including cardiovascular and cerebrovascular, and are considered a standard treatment for the latter, due to their inherent ability to cross the blood brain barrier (BBB). In this review, a presentation of the most important brain diseases (brain cancer, ischemic stroke, Alzheimer's disease, Parkinson's disease and multiple sclerosis) is approached, followed by the basic fabrication techniques of SLNs and NLCs. A detailed description of the reported studies of the last seven years, of active and passive targeting SLNs and NLCs for the treatment of glioblastoma multiforme and of other brain cancers, as well as for the treatment of neurodegenerative diseases is also carried out. Finally, a brief description of the advantages, the disadvantages, and the future perspectives in the use of these nanocarriers is reported, aiming at giving an insight of the limitations that have to be overcome in order to result in a delivery system with high therapeutic efficacy and without the limitations of the existing nano-systems.

固体脂质纳米颗粒 (SLN) 和纳米结构脂质载体 (NLC) 构成一类多功能药物递送系统，已在生物医学领域使用超过 25 年。SLN和NLC已用于治疗包括心脑血管在内的多种疾病，并且由于其固有的穿过血脑屏障（BBB）的能力而被认为是后者的标准治疗方法。在这篇综述中，介绍了最重要的脑部疾病（脑癌、缺血性中风、阿尔茨海默病、帕金森病和多发性硬化症），然后介绍了 SLN 和 NLC 的基本制造技术。还详细描述了过去七年报道的主动和被动靶向 SLN 和 NLC 治疗多形性胶质母细胞瘤和其他脑癌以及神经退行性疾病的研究。最后，简要描述了这些纳米载体使用的优点、缺点和未来前景，旨在深入了解必须克服的局限性，以形成具有高治疗功效的递送系统并且不受现有纳米系统的限制。