An Overview on Advances in the Nanocarriers Drug Delivery Systems

The unceasing efforts and improvement of drug delivery systems (DDSs) have been broadly researched to maximize therapeutic efficacy while curtailing undesirable side effects. Nanoparticle technology was recently shown to hold great promise for drug delivery applications in nanomedicine due to its favorable properties, such as better encapsulation, bioavailability, control release, and lower toxic effects. Regardless of the great progress in nanomedicine, there remain many limitations prior to widely being accepted for medical application. To overcome these limitations, advanced nanoparticles for drug delivery have been developed to enable the spatially and temporally controlled release of drugs in response to specific stimuli at disease sites. An ideal drug delivery system should be able to localize a drug specifically and directly to its target. This is particularly important when drugs made by traditional manufacturing methods are hydrophobic and their solvents are toxic. Nanotechnology promises to improve drug delivery system design and targeting. Nanostructured drugs or delivery carriers allow the continuous and controlled release of therapeutic drugs to maintain drug levels to a desired extent. The size of nanoparticles ranges from 10 to 200 nm, about the size of a protein. Because of their small size, nanoparticles can readily interact with biomolecules on the cell surface or inside cell allowing these nanoparticles to penetrate tissues in depth with a high level of specificity. This chapter discusses an overview of nanoparticulate systems that can be used as a potential drug delivery carriers and focuses on the potential applications of nanoparticles in various biomedical fields for improving human health care.