**3.2 Lipid nanoparticles of itraconazole**

Nanostructured lipid carriers (NLCs) are attractive drug carriers thanks to their unstructured matrix, which grants enhanced drug loading capacity and long-term drug stability, thereby constituting an upgrade of solid lipid nanoparticles (SLNs) [38, 42].

Itraconazole-NLCs were successfully formulated for brain-targeted delivery. The formulation included Precirol® ATO 5 and Transcutol® HP as lipid phase and Tween 80 and Solutol® HS15 as surfactants. A sustained release was achieved along with an almost double increase in the drug's concentration in the brain, compared to pure itraconazole alone, which in turn showed much lower permeability across the blood–brain barrier [38]. Even though the conducted *in vitro* cellular studies have not targeted *Histoplasma* strains, these itraconazole-NLCs can be further exploited as nanocarriers for brain delivery in SNC histoplasmosis.
