Solid lipid nanoparticles (SLN) were prepared using cacao butter, as the lipid core, and curdlan, as the shell material. Tween 80 was used as a co-surfactant in order to prevent aggregation and gelling of the curdlan. Mannitol was used as a cryoprotectant in order to prevent aggregation during redispersion. No significant change in the size of the SLN was observed up to a lipid concentration of 1.0%, and the particle size ranged from 140 to 200 nm with a unimodal distribution. When an alternating pH between 7 and 11 was used to test the physical stability of an SLN solution, the change in the particle size remained within a narrow range up to a lipid concentration of 0.5%. Above 0.5%, the particles began to aggregate due to the insufficient amount of the coating material, curdlan and Tween 80. The critical aggregation concentration at pH 7.4 was found to be 6.95 x 10(-4) mg/ml. Pyrene was used as a fluorescence probe. As the temperature increased, pyrene was gradually released from the SLN. The loading efficiency was >75% when the verapamil to lipid ratios were 1:10 and 1:5 and decreased significantly as the ratio became 1:1. The release rate was significantly delayed when verapamil was loaded into the SLN.