Targeted delivery, drug release strategies, and toxicity study of polymeric drug nanocarriers

Abstract

Science has been trying to deal with complex diseases, like cancer, for a long time. Indeed, the side effects of the conventional treatment methods are tremendous, in some cases irreversible. This kind of problems demands a solution. Therefore, novel drug delivery systems are devised to mitigate the negative impacts of conventional ones. Polymeric nanocarrier systems are of great importance in this newly opened field. Polymers having been vastly investigated are common in some properties, such as their being biocompatibility and biodegradability. Generally speaking, a set of properties is required to achieve optimum delivery of drugs to target organs with minimum side effects. To do so, some measures should be taken. First of all, the strategy for release should be determined, categorized into two main branches, active and passive. Next, the drug release method should be engineered. Generally, there are two main categories for drug release, exogenous and endogenous. In this review, some of the chief subcategories of any aforementioned items are discussed. In the end, we catch up on already engineered nanocarriers' administration to the human body, possible toxic effects, if any, and the routes for affecting as a toxin.

Nanoparticles in Clinical Translation for Cancer Therapy

“…The EPR effect is a deciding factor in drug release and delivery. In a recent approach, stimuli-responsive nanocarriers were developed where biological (internal) or physical (exogenous) stimuli were directed to specifically targeted cells after drug delivery and the precise release of the drug was achieved [108].…”

Application of Polymer Drugs with Cerium Dioxide Nanomolecules and Mesenchymal Stem Cells for the Treatment of Skin Wounds in Aged Rats

“…This can be explained by the fact that practically all modern medicines act only on one of possibly many pathogenetic mechanisms of the appearance and development of the disease. Unfortunately, there is still no universal medicines that immediately affect all links in the pathogenesis of various wounds or change their structure depending on the biochemical characteristics of the wound [ 4 , 5 ]…”

Development of pullulan‐based carriers for controlled release of hydrophobic ingredients

“…Conventional methods of administration are incapable of ensuring the localized release of the active ingredient, which means that it will act both injured and healthy cells, causing side effects and demanding higher doses and frequent application 1–3 . Furthermore, some conventional drug delivery systems are limited due to some physicochemical properties of active molecules such as poor solubility, low permeability, instability, and rapid metabolism, which directly decrease their corresponding bioavailability and ultimately reduce the therapeutic effect of the drug 4,5 …”

“…It is well known that the efficiency of a given therapeutic agent depends on stablishing the molecular pharmacodynamics and pharmacokinetics that enable an effective administration dose at the target site 1,6 . Recently, studies have been conducted to develop devices capable of maintaining the therapeutic concentration of an active ingredient for long time intervals, controlling its release after the in vivo administration and, consequently, increasing the administration intervals and decreasing the side effects 2,5 . Such devices, or matrices, can be prepared in different shapes and are commonly referred to as controlled drug delivery systems 5 …”

“…A very complete review was recently published regarding biomedical systems based on polyhydroxyalkanoates and exopolyssacharides 10 . In this context, the water‐based self‐assembly of core‐shell polymeric nanoparticles (NPs) has demonstrated to be an efficient method for the entrapment of hydrophobic drugs, resulting in a biological compatible, stable, and bioavailable material in aqueous biological solutions 5,11 . Pullulan‐based NPs have been extensively applied to biomedical devices due to their remarkable biocompatibility, and the presence of multiple hydroxyl groups is strategic to tune some specific properties of final materials through chemical modification 10,12 …”