The present invention is directed to a cargo-loaded cholesteryl ester nanoparticle with a hollow compartment (“cholestosome”) consisting essentially of at least one non-ionic cholesteryl ester and one or more encapsulated active molecules which cannot appreciably pass through an enterocyte membrane in the absence of said molecule being loaded into said cholestosome, the cholestosome having a neutral surface and having the ability to pass into enterocytes in the manner of orally absorbed nutrient lipids using cell pathways to reach the golgi apparatus. Pursuant to the present invention, the novel cargo loaded cholestosomes according to the present invention are capable of depositing active molecules within cells of a patient or subject and effecting therapy or diagnosis of the patient or subject.
