Emulsions in Health Care Applications—An Overview

Pharmaceutical applications of emulsions are reviewed with special emphasis on the main reasons these vehicles are used and on their limitations. The development of current applications and future directions are considered according to their delivery routes: these routes can be either parenteral, ocular, or oral, or even transdermal. We examine the raw materials generally used in the formulation of these emulsions, and we consider the main factors influencing the release and absorption of the drugs from these vehicles. We also treat the pharmaceutical applications of emulsified vehicles, particularly submicron emulsions, multiple emulsions, and microemulsions. We have also developed some interesting applications of these formulations such as self-emulsifying drug delivery systems, fat emulsions, and drug carrier systems.     

Advances in Targeting Drug Biological Carriers for Enhancing Tumor Therapy Efficacy

Chemotherapy drugs continue to be the main component of oncology treatment research and have been proven to be the main treatment modality in tumor therapy. However, the poor delivery efficiency of cancer therapeutic drugs and their potential off-target toxicity significantly limit their effectiveness and extensive application. The recent integration of biological carriers and functional agents is expected to camouflage synthetic biomimetic nanoparticles for targeted delivery. The promising candidates, including but not limited to red blood cells and their membranes, platelets, tumor cell membrane, bacteria, immune cell membrane, and hybrid membrane are typical representatives of biological carriers because of their excellent biocompatibility and biodegradability. Biological carriers are widely used to deliver chemotherapy drugs to improve the effectiveness of drug delivery and therapeutic efficacy in vivo, and tremendous progress is made in this field. This review summarizes recent developments in biological vectors as targeted drug delivery systems based on microenvironmental stimuli-responsive release, thus highlighting the potential applications of target drug biological carriers. The review also discusses the possibility of clinical translation, as well as the exploitation trend of these target drug biological carriers.     

Nano-Drug Delivery Systems Based on Different Targeting Mechanisms in the Targeted Therapy of Colorectal Cancer

Colorectal cancer (CRC) is a usual digestive tract malignancy and the third main cause of cancer death around the world, with a high occurrence rate and mortality rate. Conventional therapies for CRC have certain side effects and restrictions. However, the exciting thing is that with the rapid development of nanotechnology, nanoparticles have gradually become more valuable drug delivery systems than traditional therapies because of their capacity to control drug release and target CRC. This also promotes the application of nano-drug targeted delivery systems in the therapy of CRC. Moreover, to make nanoparticles have a better colon targeting effect, many approaches have been used, including nanoparticles targeting CRC and in response to environmental signals. In this review, we focus on various targeting mechanisms of CRC-targeted nanoparticles and their latest research progress in the last three years, hoping to give researchers some inspiration on the design of CRC-targeted nanoparticles.     

Polymeric carriers of drugs for site-specific therapy

Three types of water-soluble polymeric drug carrier systems facilitating targeted drug delivery and controlled drug release were synthesized. All systems consist of an inert soluble synthetic polymer, drug and homing device (targeting moiety). In the first “classical” system, both drug and targeting moiety are bound to a nondegradable polymer by means of biodegradable oligopeptide side chains statistically distributed along the polymer chain. The second, “star-like” system contains a targeting moiety (antibody) in the centre and a hydrophilic polymer, bearing drug molecules, in the shell of the system. The third, “biodegradable” carrier system is based on block copolymers of poly(ethylene glycol) containing biodegradable oligopeptide sequences both in the main polymer chain and in the spacers between main chain and drug molecules. Strategy and details of the synthesis of all three systems are given.     

Advanced drug delivery systems: Nanotechnology of health design A review

Nanotechnology has finally and firmly entered the realm of drug delivery. Performances of intelligent drug delivery systems are continuously improved with the purpose to maximize therapeutic activity and to minimize undesirable side-effects. This review describes the advanced drug delivery systems based on micelles, polymeric nanoparticles, and dendrimers. Polymeric carbon nanotubes and many others demonstrate a broad variety of useful properties. This review emphasizes the main requirements for developing new nanotech-nology-based drug delivery systems.     

Biomedical and Pharmacological Uses of Fluorescein Isothiocyanate Chitosan‐Based Nanocarriers

Chitosan‐based nanocarriers (ChNCs) are considered suitable drug carriers due to their ability to encapsulate a variety of drugs and cross biological barriers to deliver the cargo to their target site. Fluorescein isothiocyanate‐labeled chitosan‐based NCs (FITC@ChNCs) are used extensively in biomedical and pharmacological applications. The main advantage of using FITC@ChNCs consists of the ability to track their fate both intra and extracellularly. This journey is strictly dependent on the physico‐chemical properties of the carrier and the cell types under investigation. Other applications make use of fluorescent ChNCs in cell labeling for the detection of disorders in vivo and controlling of living cells in situ. This review describes the use of FITC@ChNCs in the various applications with a focus on understanding their usefulness in labeled drug‐delivery systems.     

纳米金属有机骨架材料及其载药应用

金属有机骨架材料(MOFs)是指由含氮、氧等多齿有机配体与金属离子通过自组装形成的配位聚合物。由于金属有机骨架材料的大比表面积和高孔隙率等优点使其在药物负载领域有广泛应用。近年来,纳米金属有机骨架材料(NMOFs)因既具有MOFs的特点,又具有纳米材料独特的理化性能,使其兼具药物负载量高、目标靶向性好、表面易改性和生物相容性优良等特点,已成为一种优异的纳米级载药系统。本文介绍了NMOFs的常用制备方法,主要包括溶剂热法、反相微乳液法与超声波法,并对其优缺点进行了讨论;详细阐述了载药NMOFs的特性及其不同类型对于各类药物的负载能力;指出今后其主要的研究方向是改善生物相容性、实现更有效的表面功能化、扩展生物NMOFs及其负载药物的种类,使其应用到更多疾病的治疗上。     

Whey protein: A functional and promising material for drug delivery systems recent developments and future prospects

Natural polymers have been extensively utilized in the past decades due to their outstanding features. Among these natural excipients, protein‐based polymers have superb features owing to their high drug binding capacity and biodegradability. Whey protein is a versatile protein‐based vehicle for drug delivery systems. It has been shown to be nontoxic, biocompatible, and biodegradable. Therefore, it has been considered as an ideal biomaterial for the design of advanced drug delivery systems. Protein‐based cargo acts as synthetic polymers counterpart for innovative delivery systems. The current review is mainly focused on application of whey proteins as an emerging carrier in drug delivery systems, achieved during the past.     

温敏性聚膦腈及其在药物释放体系中的应用

温敏性聚合物能通过感知温度而实现环境响应,作为药剂可依靠对此类信号的自反馈响应而释放药物或中止释放,极大地增强了释药的持续性和专一性,从而提高了药物的药效和安全性.温敏性聚膦腈是一类新型的温敏材料,它具有良好的生物可降解性质,优良的生物相容性.因此,温敏性聚膦腈作为药物载体用于药物释放体系具有很好的应用前景,近年来备受关注.本文对聚膦腈的温敏性质、生物降解性质进行了评述,并探讨了LCST的影响因素,以及在药物释放体系的应用进展.     

Application of NMR spectroscopy to the characterization of PEG-stabilized lipid nanoparticles

The main purpose of the present work was to apply NMR techniques to characterize the nanostructural organization of a new drug nanocarrier composed of tripalmitin, lecithin, and poly(ethylene glycol) (PEG)-stearate. These nanocarriers were prepared by an emulsification-solvent evaporation technique and were characterized for their composition and nanostructural architecture. The results showed that tripalmitin, present in the core of the nanoparticles, is the main component of these systems, whereas PEG-stearate is firmly attached to the surface of the nanoparticles, forming a hydrated polymeric layer. Furthermore, the results indicate that, by selecting appropriately the composition of the lipid mixtures used for nanoparticle preparation, it was possible to modulate the PEG-coating density. This rigorous characterization by NMR provided very useful information about the architectural organization of this new colloidal drug carrier and showed the potential of modern NMR techniques for the characterization of core-coated nanostructures intended for drug delivery.     

Self-emulsification in chemical and pharmaceutical technologies

The interest in the low energy self-emulsification techniques has exploded in the recent years, driven by three main trends: by the transition to “greener” technologies in both its aspects—less energy consumption and replacement of the petrochemicals by natural ingredients; by the costly and maintenance demanding equipment for nanoemulsification; and by the quest for efficient and robust self-emulsifying formulations for oral drug delivery. Here, we first present a brief overview of the main known low-energy methods for nanoemulsion formation, focusing on their mechanistic understanding and discussing some recent advances in their development and applications. Next, we review three conceptually new approaches for self-emulsification in chemical technologies, discovered in the last several years. The colloidal features and the specific requirements of the self-emulsifying drug-delivery systems (SEDDS) are also discussed briefly. Finally, we summarize the current trends and the main challenges in this vivid research area.     

Development strategies and biopharmaceutical aspects of drug delivery systems

One of the approaches to enhancing drug efficiency consists in the development of drug delivery systems. Development, research, and standardization of biologically available, functional, molecularly structured systems with unique mechanical, physicochemical, and other properties requires joint effort of many disciplines: from materials science to pharmacy. The main goal of the development of drug delivery systems is to prolong residence of a drug in biological fluids (this first of all relates to readily soluble pharmaceutical substances), ensure targeted action (especially with highly toxic substances), and enhance solubility for improving its bioavalability (with sparingly soluble substances).     

Carbohydrate-Derived Dienes as Building Blocks for Pharmaceutically Relevant Molecules

Carbohydrate-based dienes are valuable building blocks for a variety of highly functionalized carbo- and oxa-cycles by virtue of their high degree of inherent stereochemical information, and suitability in various synthetic transformations. Research into the chemistry of carbohydrate-based dienes has been expanding over the last decades due to its unique applications in the construction of diverse and complex structural frameworks. In this review, we describe the main transformations of this interesting class of molecule and highlight their utility in the construction of diverse ring systems important for drug development.     

Controlled Drug Delivery Systems: Current Status and Future Directions

The drug delivery system enables the release of the active pharmaceutical ingredient to achieve a desired therapeutic response. Conventional drug delivery systems (tablets, capsules, syrups, ointments, etc.) suffer from poor bioavailability and fluctuations in plasma drug level and are unable to achieve sustained release. Without an efficient delivery mechanism, the whole therapeutic process can be rendered useless. Moreover, the drug has to be delivered at a specified controlled rate and at the target site as precisely as possible to achieve maximum efficacy and safety. Controlled drug delivery systems are developed to combat the problems associated with conventional drug delivery. There has been a tremendous evolution in controlled drug delivery systems from the past two decades ranging from macro scale and nano scale to intelligent targeted delivery. The initial part of this review provides a basic understanding of drug delivery systems with an emphasis on the pharmacokinetics of the drug. It also discusses the conventional drug delivery systems and their limitations. Further, controlled drug delivery systems are discussed in detail with the design considerations, classifications and drawings. In addition, nano-drug delivery, targeted and smart drug delivery using stimuli-responsive and intelligent biomaterials is discussed with recent key findings. The paper concludes with the challenges faced and future directions in controlled drug delivery.     

In vitro and in vivo evaluation of microparticulate drug delivery systems composed of macromolecular prodrugs

Macromolecular prodrugs are very useful systems for achieving controlled drug release and drug targeting. In particular, various macromolecule-antitumor drug conjugates enhance the effectiveness and improve the toxic side effects. Also, polymeric micro- and nanoparticles have been actively examined and their in vivo behaviors elucidated, and it has been realized that their particle characteristics are very useful to control drug behavior. Recently, researches based on the combination of the concepts of macromolecular prodrugs and micro- or nanoparticles have been reported, although they are limited. Macromolecular prodrugs enable drugs to be released at a certain controlled release rate based on the features of the macromolecule-drug linkage. Micro- and nanoparticles can control in vivo behavior based on their size, surface charge and surface structure. These merits are expected for systems produced by the combination of each concept. In this review, several micro- or nanoparticles composed of macromolecule-drug conjugates are described for their preparation, in vitro properties and/or in vivo behavior.     

基于微流控技术的细胞水平高通量药物筛选系统的研究进展

药物筛选是新药研发的关键步骤,创新药物的发现需要采用适当的药物作用靶点对大量化合物样品进行筛选.高通量筛选系统能够实现数千个反应同时测试和分析,大大提高了药物筛选的实验规模和效率.其中基于细胞水平的高通量药物筛选系统因为更加接近人体生理条件,成为主要的筛选模式.而目前发展成熟的高通量细胞筛选系统主要基于多孔板,存在细胞...     

Additive Manufacturing Strategies for Personalized Drug Delivery Systems and Medical Devices: Fused Filament Fabrication and Semi Solid Extrusion

Novel additive manufacturing (AM) techniques and particularly 3D printing (3DP) have achieved a decade of success in pharmaceutical and biomedical fields. Highly innovative personalized therapeutical solutions may be designed and manufactured through a layer-by-layer approach starting from a digital model realized according to the needs of a specific patient or a patient group. The combination of patient-tailored drug dose, dosage, or diagnostic form (shape and size) and drug release adjustment has the potential to ensure the optimal patient therapy. Among the different 3D printing techniques, extrusion-based technologies, such as fused filament fabrication (FFF) and semi solid extrusion (SSE), are the most investigated for their high versatility, precision, feasibility, and cheapness. This review provides an overview on different 3DP techniques to produce personalized drug delivery systems and medical devices, highlighting, for each method, the critical printing process parameters, the main starting materials, as well as advantages and limitations. Furthermore, the recent developments of fused filament fabrication and semi solid extrusion 3DP are discussed. In this regard, the current state of the art, based on a detailed literature survey of the different 3D products printed via extrusion-based techniques, envisioning future directions in the clinical applications and diffusion of such systems, is summarized.     

Chitosan Nanoparticles-Insight into Properties,Functionalization and Applications in Drug Delivery and Theranostics

Nanotechnology-based development of drug delivery systems is an attractive area of research in formulation driven R&D laboratories that makes administration of new and complex drugs feasible. It plays a significant role in the design of novel dosage forms by attributing target specific drug delivery, controlled drug release, improved, patient friendly drug regimen and lower side effects. Polysaccharides, especially chitosan, occupy an important place and are widely used in nano drug delivery systems owing to their biocompatibility and biodegradability. This review focuses on chitosan nanoparticles and envisages to provide an insight into the chemistry, properties, drug release mechanisms, preparation techniques and the vast evolving landscape of diverse applications across disease categories leading to development of better therapeutics and superior clinical outcomes. It summarizes recent advancement in the development and utility of functionalized chitosan in anticancer therapeutics, cancer immunotherapy, theranostics and multistage delivery systems.     

碳纳米管在药物和基因转运领域的研究进展

当前,国内外的许多研究小组都致力于开发出新型有效的药物和基因转运系统,用于改善多种治疗因子的药理学作用并降低其毒性。在纳米材料这一类中,碳纳米管（Carbon Nanotubes, CNTs）正逐步引起人们的关注。功能化的CNTs的两个关键优势在于它具有很强的细胞穿透能力和较低的细胞毒性,使其在药物和基因转运领域中的应用成为可能。CNTs可通过形成稳定的共价键或形成以非共价键为基础的超分子结合物来运载肽类、蛋白质、核酸和药物等活性分子,并将其运送至特定的组织、器官中以表达特殊的生物学功能。针对这一研究热点,本文综述了近几年国内外关于碳纳米管在药物和基因转运领域中的应用进展,并探讨了其毒性,以期为这一领域中的研究工作者提供参考。     

Lipid carrier systems for targeted drug and gene delivery

For effective chemotherapy, it is necessary to deliver therapeutic agents selectively to their target sites, since most drugs are associated with both beneficial effects and side effects. The use of lipid dispersion carrier systems, such as lipid emulsions and liposomes, as carriers of lipophilic drugs has attracted particular interest. A drug delivery system can be defined as a methodology for manipulating drug distribution in the body. Since drug distribution depends on the carrier, administration route, particle size of the carrier, lipid composition of the carrier, electric charge of the carrier and ligand density of the targeting carrier, these factors must be optimized. Recently, the lipid carrier system has also been applied to gene delivery systems for gene therapy. However, in both drug and gene medicine cases, a lack of cell-selectivity limits the wide application of this kind of drug and/or gene therapy. Therefore, lipid carrier systems for targeted drug and gene delivery must be developed for the rational therapy. In this review, we shall focus on the progress of research into lipid carrier systems for drug and gene delivery following systemic or local injection.