Keywords

Nanoparticles · Nanocargos · Formulation by design (FbD) · Nanomedicine ·

Design of experiments (DoE) · Nanoformulations

18.1

Introduction

The drug delivery domain has bequeathed a newer stance towards pharma product

development and consequent patient therapeutics. The scientists have undertaken

daunting strides for developing an assortment of novel delivery technologies, pre-

dominantly incorporating a plethora of drugs, excipients (whether functional or

non-functional) and manufacturing processes. Drug delivery technologies, conse-

quently, constitute different drug formulations specifically engineered to act as per

the requirements and through their respective route(s) of body administration. The

foremost consequences of such drug delivery developments have eventually been

able to address the unmet patient needs for maximizing the clinical throughput,

minimizing the possible toxic effects and surmounting the issue of patient

non-compliance (Korting and Monika 2010; Momin et al. 2016).

Worth one billionth, “nano” has accomplished mammoth magnitudes today,

worth billions (of currencies). Not simply an “evolution”, this has recently emerged

out as a “revolution” among divergent scientific realms and industrial sectors, the

world over. Nanoscale systems tend to unveil astronomical benefits, including

boosted surface area per unit volume, enhanced drug solubility, target specificity,

biocompatibility, regulated drug release potential, stealth features, precise particle

size control and increased bioavailability too (Crommelin et al. 2003; Korting and

Monika 2010; Raza et al. 2013).

Nanomedicine encompasses the application of nanoscale technologies in medical

practice for safe, effective and patient-compliant management of diseases. This

multidisciplinary science has lately offered inimitable promise to revolutionize the

therapeutic approach to detect, prevent, treat and eradicate various disorders, includ-

ing cancer. Recently, nanomedicine has become the cynosure of medical

investigations owing to the uniqueness of various nanoconstructs employed for the

purpose. Besides their size per se, alteration in the surface properties and functional

behaviour has brought a metamorphic change in the carriers and their usefulness at

different levels. The key to success of nanomedicine lies in the search of apt

nanocarriers and their apt blends. The ongoing battle against chronic diseases has

been grossly fortified with the development of various biopolymers in nano-form,

enabling the realization of the dream to use drugs as smart “magic missiles”. The

dynamic properties of these systems increase the selectivity of drugs towards their

specific targets, leading eventually to minimization of their side effects and enhance-

ment of their efficacy in minimal dosage.

Operation at nanoscale tends to ameliorate the ability of these drug delivery

carriers to surpass cell membranes and biological barriers, including gastrointestinal,

ocular, placental, skin, tumour and blood-brain barrier, as illustrated in Fig. 18.1.

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