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Abstract
Currently, the use of nanocarriers is one of the most
promising approach in drug delivery. Nanocarriers offer
several significant advantages for various drug delivery
techniques. It is utmost important to select the right
nanocarrier to achieve desired properties. In this
review various nanocarriers have been discussed along
with their important characteristics which can help in
the rationally selecting the right type of nanocarriers.
Introduction
Nanocarrier may be defined as sub micron moiety used to
deliver a drug at the site of action. Various
pharmaceutical carriers that can be used in drug
delivery are Polymeric nanoparticles, Solid lipid
nanoparticles, Liposomes, Polymeric micelles, Quantum
dots, Dendrimers, Gold nanoparticle, Nanotubes, Carbon
nanotube, Fullerenes and Inorganic nanoparticles. The
review lists a brief overview of these nanocarriers
along with rationale of selecting the right nanocarrier.
Rationale for using nanocarries in drug therapy
Nanocarriers can be used to obtain desirable drug like
properties by altering the biopharmaceutics and
pharmacokinetics properties of the molecule such as half
life and distribution of drug. Various nanocarriers are
formulated to encapsulate the drug in carriers, which
mask the unfavorable biopharmaceutical properties of the
molecule and replace them with the properties of the
materials used for make the nano-delivery system, thus
achieving the desirable drug delivery.
Nanocarrier based drug delivery systems can also be used
for site specific delivery, thus improving unwanted
toxicity due to nonspecific distribution. Further,
efficiency of a nanocarriers drug delivery can be
increased by targeting them to organs or tissues of
interest. In some cases, targeting is achieved
spontaneously via the enhanced permeability and
retention (EPR) effect especially in solid tumors and
infarcts. Certain pathological conditions such as local
temperature increase and/or acidosis can also be used to
target nanocarriers. Additionally they can be targeted
by attaching to their surface a targeting vector
molecule such as antibody, peptide, lectin, or
saccharide. Surface modification of pharmaceutical
nanocarriers, such as liposome, micelles, nanocapsules,
polymeric nanoparticles, solid lipid particles, and
others can easily be done to control their biological
properties in a desirable fashion and make them to
perform various therapeutically or diagnostically
important functions. The most important results of such
modification are increased stability and half-life of
nanocarriers in the circulation, required
biodistribution, passive or active targeting and
responsiveness to local physiological stimuli such as
pathology associated changes in local pH and/or
temperature.
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