Critical Reviews in Therapeutic Drug Carrier Systems最新文献

The main objective of drug(s) formulation is to enhance the bioavailability of the drug within the body. Some of the challenging issues associated with poorly water-soluble drugs concern solubility and bioavailability factors. To overcome these problems, new technologies, such as lipid-based drug delivery systems including micro or nano emulsifying drug delivery system, have gained importance in recent years, due to their enhanced solubility and bioavailability in the gastrointestinal tract. Such systems are incorporated or solubilized within the lipid excipients or mixed with oils or surfactants/co-solvents to facilitate the solubility and absorption rate, which can enhance the bioavailability of the targeted drug. This review provides a comprehensive summary about the properties, factors affecting formulations, excipients, formulation techniques, and characterization of self-emulsifying drug delivery systems. It also focuses on the new approaches concerned with SEDDS.

Carbon nanotubes (CNTs) have been identified as one of the most advanced and versatile nanovectors, theranostics, and futuristic drug delivery tools for highly effective delivery of genes, drugs, and biomolecules, as well as for use in bioimaging and as biosensors. CNTs have drawn tremendous attention and interest from researchers worldwide in the past two decades owing to a number of unique characteristics including well defined physicochemical properties, large surface area, in addition to exclusive electrical and optical properties. Numerous recent literature related to the design and applications of CNTs were studied and summarized accordingly. Special emphasis was given for the applications of CNTs in drug targeting. Specific targeting of anticancer drugs such as cisplatin, doxorubicin, taxol, gemcitabine, and methotrexate, and delivery of small interfering RNA, micro-RNA, as well as plasmid DNA have been successfully assisted using CNTs. All the major applications of CNTs were summarized in detail with possible toxicity concerns associated with them. As far as their toxicity is concerned, it was noticed that the functionalized CNTs pose little toxicity and do not have immunogenic effects. In conclusion, CNTs showed great potential in developing a new generation of carriers for various drugs and related biomolecules. The application of CNTs ranges from physics to chemistry and now they are expanding their roles in the therapeutic drug delivery in the modern healthcare system. With applications in every imaginable route of administration, CNTs bring therapeutic benefits to society. The pharmaceutical, biopharmaceutical, pharmacokinetic, pharmacodynamic, and clinical efficacy of CNTs is explored in detail in this review.

Because viruses still represent a significant threat to human and animal health worldwide, the development of effective weapons against viral infections remains a top priority for the biopharmaceutical industry. This article reviews the dietary and pharmaceutical applications of polysaccharides (PS), first of all chitosan, in the prevention and treatment of viral diseases, focusing more particularly on solid or gel micro/nanoparticulate systems. The intrinsic antiviral activity of PS and their immunostimulatory effects, implemented in animal and human diets, are first surveyed. Then the review discusses the potential of PS-based particles as carriers of antiviral drugs and vaccines, with emphasis on the adjuvant potency of PS in solid vaccine formulations. The gap between the abundance of academic studies in this area and the lack of actual antiviral formulations dispensed to human patients is underlined, notwithstanding a number of branded products on the market.

Nanotechnology provides an excellent platform for the development of a new generation of vaccines. These are based on purified subunit proteins or polysaccharides, recombinant proteins, synthetic peptides, or nucleic acids. These types of vaccines may be insufficiently immunogenic, thus requiring adjuvants that augment their immunogenicity. Nanoparticles (NPs) can act as adjuvants for vaccines, hence they are referred to as a nano-adjuvant (NA). NPs can either encapsulate or adsorb the vaccine antigen or DNA in an appropriate formulation, thus increasing stability, cellular uptake, and immunogenicity. In addition, the biodistribution and systemic release of a vaccine can also be controlled by different NA formulations. This review provides an overview of the classification of NAs and also addresses factors influencing the stability, release, and immunogenicity of the formulated vaccine. A basic understanding of these factors enables a more rational design of NA formulations. Applications of NAs and key challenges in their formulation development are also discussed.

The parenteral route of administration is preferred over the oral route for treatment of many chronic and life-threatening diseases due to better patient compliance. Long-acting injectables/depot delivery systems are formulations intended for prolonged/sustained drug release over a long period of time ranging from a few days to months. Depot delivery systems enhance product quality by decreasing dosing frequency, simplifying the drug regimen. Parenteral depots reduce the relapse rate of disease and the maintenance phase of therapy, hence improving efficacy and treatment adherence. However, despite being extensively explored in the last seventy years, only a few depot products have been marketed or have reached commercial viability. The introduction of long-acting injectables of any drug took 9 to 10 years after approval of its oral formulation. Mainly the market has been conquered by long-acting injectables for antipsychotic, substance abuse, and hormonal therapy drugs. This article focuses on the preparation of long-acting injectables with special emphasis on challenges associated with formulation. The evolution and current global market trend of various depot formulations are also discussed. Insight is provided into the promising future of long-acting injectables of protein-based drugs as well as multidrug therapy, along with potential uses in the treatment of chronic diseases like HIV, Parkinson's, and Alzheimer's.

Therapeutics and biotherapeutics-based fabrication of nanoparticles has fascinated scientists since the past two decades and exciting challenges have been surmounted. Particular interest has been paid to the exploitation of functionalized nanocarriers in the treatment of Alzheimer's disease (AD) using nasal route. Development of various material-based nanocarriers is a common approach to obtain advanced drug delivery systems possessing the ability to follow intranasal (IN) route for brain targeting, which would ultimately ameliorate the effect of AD. This review highlights the various pathological theories for AD along with their controversies. This work intends to provide a thorough, up-to-date, and holistic discussion on various pathways for nose-to-brain delivery and different formulation factors impacting on nasal absorption. The various material properties and their engineered nanocarriers as a smart delivery system, including synergistic effect of therapeutic/biotherapeutic agent in IN delivery as well as in AD therapy have been discussed. This review also emphasizes toxicity, especially neurotoxicity concerns pertaining to drug delivery systems.

Vaccination plays a crucial role in the control of infectious diseases, but often fails to eradicate certain refractory infections for which the development of an effective vaccine is eagerly desired but elusive. In many cases, failure in developing a vaccine is attributed to the inability of the candidates, especially among subunit vaccines, to evoke appropriate immuno-responses for establishing humoral as well as cellular immunity. In past decades, nanoparticles (NPs) sizing from 10 to 500 nm, such as liposomes, inorganic or metal NPs (iNPs), viruslike particles (VLPs), emulsions, immune-stimulating complexes (ISCOMs), and polymeric NPs, have been developed a potential carrier for vaccines to stabilize and deliver the adjuvant and antigens, thus forming proper vaccine adjuvant-delivery systems (VADSs). In particular, many NPs are rationally designed according to distinct cellular features and, therefore, are specifically engineered with functional materials so that they can deliver vaccine ingredients to target antigen-presenting cells (APCs) while directing immunoresponses against antigens along a specific Th1 (T helper type 1) and/or Th2 pathway to establish robust cellular and antibody immunity. In addition, a variety of NP-based VADSs are suitable for mucosal immunization, which contributes to systemic and, particularly, topical immunity, thus forming a dual barrier to pathogen invasion. This paper describes different NP-based VADSs designed for delivering vaccines, and evaluates their potential in the preparation of new products that can be used for prophylaxis against pathogens via different immunization routes.