Читать книгу Nanobiotechnology in Diagnosis, Drug Delivery and Treatment - Группа авторов - Страница 40

There are many studies have been performed and some of them are already discussed above which proposed the potential role of various nanomaterials such as liposomes, SLN, polymeric nanoparticles, etc. in specialized drug delivery, in the development of biocompatible nanomaterial prosthetic implants, the metal‐containing engineered nanoparticles, etc. for both the imaging and treatment of various diseases including cancers (Wright et al. 2016). Moreover, such nano‐scale size materials usually encapsulate therapeutic and/or imaging compounds, popularly known as nanomedicine, in nano‐size systems typically with sizes smaller than eukaryotic or prokaryotic cells. They offer immense opportunity in patient‐specific, targeted, and regenerative medicine technology with applications such as: regeneration of tissue cell therapy; regeneration of tissue with help of nano‐scale biomaterials; active or passive drug release; diagnostic tests; in vitro tests with sensors for determination of molecules that react with particular disease (biomarkers); in vivo measurements of biomarkers by imaging techniques using nanoparticles as contrast media; and more (Sharma et al. 2018).

Also, nanomaterials on chips, nanorobotics, and magnetic nanoparticles attached to specific antibodies, nano‐size empty virus capsids, and magnetic immunoassay are new dimensions of their use in drug delivery. The benefit of nano‐scale drug delivery systems, like nanotubes, nanocrystals, fullerenes, nanosphere, nanoparticles, nanoliposomes, dendrimers, nanopores, nanoshells, quantum dots, nanocapsule, nano vaccines, etc., is that they increase the efficacy and efficiency of the loaded drug by delivering a notable array of medications to almost any organ or specific site in the body (Mukherjee et al. 2014). As well, they minimize accumulation in healthy body sites to reduce toxic effects of the drug, as they can reach the specific site through active or passive means providing targeted, controlled, and sustained therapeutic effects. These unique characteristics lead them to generally inaccessible areas such as cancer cells, inflamed tissues, etc., and also provide an opportunity for the peroral route of administration of genes and proteins on account of weakening lymphatic drainage.

Formulation scientists can modify the structure of materials to extremely small scales leading to an increase in surface area relative to volume, and large surface area allows for increased functionalities of these multifunctional nanosized molecules, which consecutively promote selective targeting to the desired sub‐cellular targets, avoid destruction by macrophages, effect permeation through barriers, and deliver its components in a controlled way once it gets to the target cells and tissues. They also facilitate passive targeting of actives to the macrophages of the liver and spleen through direct delivery to reticuloendothelial cells and thus permitting a natural system for treating intracellular infections. Their suitability for enhancing the efficacy of drugs with short half‐lives is attributable to the long‐time spent in circulation and can be used to examine drugs as sustained‐release formulations as well as for delivering DNA (Mukherjee et al. 2014; Sharma et al. 2018).

There is no denying the fact that articulating drugs at the nano‐scale provides potential advantages with the possibility to modify properties like solubility, drug release profiles, diffusivity, bioavailability, and immunogenicity. The dissolution rate of the drug can be enhanced with an increase in the onset of therapeutic action as well as the reduction in dose and dose‐dependent side effects (Patra et al. 2018). Furthermore, an amalgamation of drug therapy and diagnosis, termed “theranostics,” at the nano‐scale has exceptional applications and can help diagnose the disease, affirm the location, identify the stage of the disease, and provide information about the treatment response.