A mini-review of Nanocarriers in Drug Delivery Systems

Abstract

The application of nanotechnology in drug delivery systems (DDS) has been researched widely and has seen an advancement over the past three decades. Since the 1970s, nanoparticles were primarily utilised in vaccine deliveries and cancer chemotherapy. In more recent years, they have been found to hold promises for broader applications such as in proteins and therapeutic gene delivery systems. To date, there have been only a handful of nanocarrier-loaded drugs commercialised in the pharmaceutical market. More research is thus needed to facilitate a breakthrough of these products into the current market. This mini-review mainly focuses on four types of commonly utilised organic nanocarriers including micelles, compact polymerics, solid-lipid nanoparticles and liposomal vesicles and discusses the progress and some challenges associated with these nanoparticles (NP).

Keywords

• drug delivery systems
• nanocarriers
• drug targeting
• nanotechnology