Due to lack of specification and solubility of drug molecules, patients have to take high doses of the drug to achieve the desired therapeutic effects for the treatment of diseases. To solve these problems, there are various drug carriers present in the pharmaceuticals, which can used to deliver therapeutic agents to the target site in the body. Mesoporous silica materials become known as a promising candidate that can overcome above problems and produce effects in a controllable and sustainable manner. In particular, mesoporous silica nanoparticles (MSNs) are widely used as a delivery reagent because silica possesses favorable chemical properties, thermal stability, and biocompatibility. The unique mesoporous structure of silica facilitates effective loading of drugs and their subsequent controlled release of the target site. The properties of mesoporous, including pore size, high drug loading, and porosity as well as the surface properties, can be altered depending on additives used to prepare MSNs. Active surface enables functionalization to changed surface properties and link therapeutic molecules. They are used as widely in the field of diagnosis, target drug delivery, bio-sensing, cellular uptake, etc., in the bio-medical field. This review aims to present the state of knowledge of silica containing mesoporous nanoparticles and specific application in various biomedical fields.

Nanotechnology manifests the progression in the arena of research and development, by increasing the efficacy of the product through delivery of innovative solutions. To overcome certain drawbacks associated with the traditional products, application of nanotechnology is escalating in the area of cosmeceuticals. Cosmeceuticals are regarded as the fastest growing segment of the personal care industry and the use has risen drastically over the years. Nanocosmeceuticals used for skin, hair, nail, and lip care, for conditions like wrinkles, photoaging, hyperpigmentation, dandruff, and hair damage, have come into widespread use. Novel nanocarriers like liposomes, niosomes, nanoemulsions, microemulsion, solid lipid nanoparticles, nanostructured lipid carrier, and nanospheres have replaced the usage of conventional delivery system. These novel nanocarriers have advantages of enhanced skin penetration, controlled and sustained drug release, higher stability, site specific targeting, and high entrapment efficiency. However, nanotoxicological researches have indicated concern regarding the impact of increased use of nanoparticles in cosmeceuticals as there are possibilities of nanoparticles to penetrate through skin and cause health hazards. This review on nanotechnology used in cosmeceuticals highlights the various novel carriers used for the delivery of cosmeceuticals, their positive and negative aspects, marketed formulations, toxicity, and regulations of nanocosmeceuticals.

The key role of protein based nanostructures has recently revolutionized the nanomedicine era. Protein nanoparticles have turned out to be the major grounds for the transformation of different properties of many conventional materials by virtue of their size and greater surface area which instigates them to be more reactive to some other molecules. Protein nanoparticles have better biocompatibilities and biodegradability and also have the possibilities for surface modifications. These nanostructures can be synthesized by using protein like albumin, gelatin, whey protein, gliadin, legumin, elastin, zein, soy protein, and milk protein. The techniques for their fabrication include emulsification, desolvation, complex coacervation, and electrospray. The characterization parameters of protein nanoparticles comprise particle size, particle morphology, surface charge, drug loading, determination of drug entrapment, and particle structure and in vitro drug release. A plethora of protein nanoparticles applications via different routes of administration are explored and reported by eminent researchers which are highlighted in the present review along with the patents granted for protein nanoparticles as drug delivery carriers.

Designing an ophthalmic drug delivery system is one of the most difficult challenges for the researchers. The anatomy and physiology of eye create barriers like blinking which leads to the poor retention time and penetration of drug moiety. Some conventional ocular drug delivery systems show shortcomings such as enhanced pre-corneal elimination, high variability in efficiency, and blurred vision. To overcome these problems, several novel drug delivery systems such as liposomes, nanoparticles, hydrogels, and in situ gels have been developed. In situ-forming hydrogels are liquid upon instillation and undergo phase transition in the ocular cul-de-sac to form viscoelastic gel and this provides a response to environmental changes. In the past few years, an impressive number of novel temperature, pH, and ion-induced in situ-forming systems have been reported for sustain ophthalmic drug delivery. Each system has its own advantages and drawbacks. Thus, a combination of two drug delivery systems, i.e., nanoparticles and in situ gel, has been developed which is known as nanoparticle laden in situ gel. This review describes every aspects of this novel formulation, which present the readers an exhaustive detail and might contribute to research and development.

Nanostructured lipid carrier (NLC)-based gel was developed as a potential topical system for clobetasol propionate (CP) topical delivery for the treatment of eczema. The characterizations of the prepared NLC formulation for topical application on the skin were assessed by means of morphology (SEM), particle size distribution, zeta potential analysis, drug entrapment efficiency, and in vitro drug release studies to select the optimized NLC formulation. The optimized NLC formulation encompasses particle size of 137.9 nm with -20.5 mV zeta potential and 0.224 polydispersity index which indicates good stability of NLC dispersion. NLC formulation showed a good entrapment efficiency of 78.5 % ± 0.03 with cumulative in vitro release 85.42 % up to 24 h. The optimized NLC formulation was suitably gelled and characterized for rheology, drug content, ex vivo drug permeation studies, and drug release kinetics studies. The permeation study revealed that the permeability parameters like steady-state flux (Jss), permeability coefficient (Kp), and enhancement ratio were significantly higher for NLC-based gel formulation as compared to marketed formulation of clobetasol propionate. The value of r (2) (Korsmeyer-Peppas equation) indicated good linearity showing anomalous (non-Fickian) diffusion viz. drug release is controlled by more than one process, i.e., superposition of both phenomenon, the diffusion controlled as well as swelling controlled release. The anti-inflammatory activity of NLC gel via paw oedema technique showed a rapid onset of action, as well as a prolonged duration of action as compared with the marketed gel.