Nanosuspension: A Novel Approach to Improve the Solubility, Bioavailability and Pharmacokinetics of Poorly Soluble Drugs

Abstract

Solubility is an essential factor for drug effectiveness, independent of the route of administration. Poorly water soluble drugs show major problems for drug formulation. Many conventional methods exist to address the issues of poor solubility and bioavailability, but they have many drawbacks. Nanotechnology is employed to address the issues related to these traditional methods for improving solubility and bioavailability. Pharmaceutical nanosuspension is a very finely colloid, biphasic, dispersed, solid drug particles in an aqueous vehicle, size below 1µm, without any matrix material, stabilised by surfactants and polymers, prepared by suitable methods for Drug Delivery applications, through various routes of administration such as oral, topical, parenteral, ocular and pulmonary routes. This article covers the advantages, disadvantages, properties, preparation of nanosuspension by bottom up technology, top down technology, melt emulsification, emulsification- solvent evaporation and supercritical fluid with their advantages and disadvantages, evaluation, and their drug delivery applications.