Novel drug delivery systems: Insight into self-powered and nano-enabled drug delivery systems

Abstract

Novel drug delivery systems comprise sophisticated technology merged into drug delivery systems. These systems are created with the aim of addressing the limitations of conventional drug delivery systems. For instance, conventional drug delivery systems are inefficient in tackling challenging human diseases such as cancer. These systems are thus formed with materials to enhance permeation to target cells. They improve patients' compliance and efficacy. Novel drug delivery systems include self-powered drug delivery systems and microelectromechanical systems. Nanotechnology is a rapidly growing and promising field, especially in drug delivery system development and disease therapy. Novel drug delivery systems often utilise nanocarriers due to their numerous advantages. One of the benefits of nanocarriers is the ability to manipulate their size and surface functionalisation to achieve site-specific targeting. Many researchers have reported their controlled and targeted drug release profiles. Nanocarriers are propelled to their target tissues, where the entrapped drugs are released, prolonging therapeutic efficacy and decreasing undesired side effects. Hence, these systems offer the benefits of targeted and controlled drug delivery, low toxicity, high bioavailability and improved therapeutic efficiency. It is essential to understand the mechanisms of drug release and toxicity of these systems in order to develop efficient and safe drug delivery systems. This review describes the utilisation of novel drug delivery systems. It also dwells on the drug loading, targeting and drug release from nanocarriers. The primary concerns of clinical applications and the potential toxicity of these systems are also presented. It is expected that this review will be helpful to drug formulation researchers seeking solutions to challenging diseases such as cancer and cardiovascular diseases.