What are lipid nanoparticles used for?
Lipid nanoparticles (LNPs) are the most clinically advanced non-viral gene delivery system. Lipid nanoparticles safely and effectively deliver nucleic acids, overcoming a major barrier preventing the development and use of genetic medicines.
How are gold nanoparticles used in drug delivery?
Targeted drug delivery using nanoparticles allows directing the particles to specific tissues, improving bioavailability and solubility, minimizing toxicity, improving drug effect in the tissue, and protecting therapeutic agents from degradation [8], [9], [10].
What other drugs use lipid nanoparticles?
For example, the earliest approved liposomal drug was Doxil, a lipid nanoparticle formulation of the antitumor agent doxorubicin, which is used to treat ovarian cancer. (6) Another liposomal drug, Epaxal, is a lipid nanoparticle formulation of a protein antigen used as a hepatitis vaccine.
Why are lipid nanoparticles toxic?
One mechanism of toxicity of nanoparticles is likely to be induction of reactive oxygen species and the consequential oxidative stress in cells and organs. Testing for interaction of nanoparticles with proteins and various cell types should be considered as part of the toxicological evaluation.
What is a nanoparticle drug delivery system?
Nanoparticles are solid, colloidal particles with size range from 10 nm to <1000 nm; however, for nanomedical application, the preferential size is less than 200 nm (Biswas et al., 2014). One of the most significant areas of study has been in the creation of nanoparticle drug delivery systems.
How smart are nanocarriers for drug delivery?
Temperature-Sensitive Polymeric Nanocarriers Recent investigations have focused on stimulus-sensitive (smart) nanocarriers for drug delivery, due to the possibility to control the delivery and release of drugs to a specific site at the desired time.
Is nanotechnology the future of drug delivery?
The use of Nanotechnology in medicine and more specifically drug delivery is set to spread rapidly. For decades pharmaceutical sciences have been using nanoparticles to reduce toxicity and side effects of drugs.
Can nanoparticles be used to deliver drugs to cancer patients?
Currently many substances are under investigation for drug delivery and more specifically for cancer therapy. Interestingly pharmaceutical sciences are using nanoparticles to reduce toxicity and side effects of drugs and up to recently did not realize that carrier systems themselves may impose risks to the patient.