Nanoparticle in Pharmaceutical Drug Delivery System: A Review

Abstract

The most emerging branch in pharmaceutical sciences is “nanotechnology.” Nanopharmaceuticals comprised of nano- sized products which can be transformed in numerous ways to improve their characteristics. Nanoparticles reveal enormous potential in tissue engineering, carriers in drug delivery, understanding of basic biological processes, imaging, sensing, disease diagnostics and therapeutics. Application of nontechnology in drug delivery and medicine has paved new pathways and opened many doors for providing customizable and safer treatment option. There are significant advantages of nanoparticles which make them more potential and effective than the conventional drug delivery system in terms of high stability, high specificity, high drug carrying capacity,ability for targeted release, controlled delivery, possibility to use in different route of administration and the capability to deliver both hydrophilic and hydrophobic drug molecules, site specific targeting. Nanomaterials like polymeric nanoparticles, magnetic nanoparticles, liposomes, carbon nanotubes, quantum dots, dendrimers, metallic nanoparticles, polymeric nanoparticles, etc. have brought about revolutionary changes in drug delivery systems and in many other fields. So that, through the manipulation of molecular size and surface properties, researchers are able to deliver drugs for longer period of time with less frequent dosing and with greater precision and penetration in difficult to access tissues.The present chapter summarizes the types of nanopharmaceuticals with the properties, characterization and methods of preparation, advantages, and applications of nanoparticles in pharmaceutical and medical sector. Keywords: Nanotechnology, Nanoparticles, Preparation, Characterization, Applications.