Nanoparticle pharmaceutical applications

Recently, many studies have focused on self-assembled biodegradable nanoparticles for biomedical and pharmaceutical applications. Nanoparticles fabricated by the self-assembly of amphiphilic block copolymers or hydrophobically modified polymers have been explored as drug carrier systems. In general, these amphiphilic copolymers consisting of hydrophilic and hydrophobic segments are capable of forming polymeric structures in aqueous solutions via hydrophobic interactions. These self-assembled nanoparticles are composed of an inner core of hydrophobic moieties and an outer shell of hydrophilic groups [35, 36]. 

Otsuka H, Nagasaki Y, Kataoka K (2003) PEGylated nanoparticles for biological and pharmaceutical applications. Adv Drug Deliv Rev 55 403-419... 

Other pharmaceutical applications have seen the SdFFF applied successfully to monitor droplet size distributions in emulsions, together with their physical state or stability. Some examples are fluorocarbon emulsions, safflower oil emulsions, soybean oil emulsions, octane-in-water emulsions, and fat emulsions. SdFFF is also able to monitor changes in emulsion caused by aging or by the addition of electrolytes. SdFFF has been used to sort liposomes, as unilamellar vesicles or much larger multilamellar vesicles, the cubosom, and polylactate nanoparticles used as drug delivery systems [41]. 

Several fluid bed processes are under development for production and encapsulation of nanoparticles, for example, WC-Co composites, bioceramics (i.e., calcium phosphate hydroxyapapite), carbon encapsulation of iron magnetic nanoparticles, and carbon nanotubes. These nano- or ultrafine powders have broad industrial and pharmaceutical applications. Production processes usually include solution preparation (sol-gel), drying, calcination, and sintering. The last three steps may be realized in a fluidized bed, but fluidization of nano- and ultrafine powders is very difficult because of strong interparticle forces. 

Otsuka, H. Nagasaki, Y. Kataoka, K. PEGy-lated nanoparticles for biological and pharmaceutical applications. Adv. Drug Deliv. Rev. 2003, 55, 403-419. 

The definition of the term nanoparticles varies significantly depending on the scientific community where it is used. While in material sciences, the prefix nano is generally restricted to structures smaller than 10 nm or, at the most, 100 nm, the same term in pharmaceutical sciences may refer to particles with up to 1000 nm in diameter. However, when dealing with nanoparticles, there is general agreement on the phase state of the particles themselves which are supposed to be solid and dispersed in a continuous solid or fluid medium. In the following, we stick to a nomenclature that is common in pharmaceutical applications and has been proposed by Kreuter spherical nanoparticles with a compact solid structure are referred to as nanospheres, while hollow nanoparticles with a fluid content are named nanocapsules. 

Lince, R, Marchisio, D. L. Barresi, A. A. 2008 Strategies to control the particle size distribution of poly-e-caprolactone nanoparticles for pharmaceutical applications. Journal of Colloid and Interface Science 332, 505-515. 

Micro- and nanoparticles are very fine particles with a small linear size. The size range of microsystems is 100-1000 pm, while nanoparticles fall within the lower range of the colloid dimension, their typical size is between 15-300 nm [5-7, 57, 58]. The pharmaceutical application of these important systems, the process of controlled drug delivery, is dealt with in several publications. Some of the major, comprehensive publications are cited [47-56]. 

A number of interesting properties are associated with the critical state. One of these is that the density of the liquid and of the vapor becomes identical, and for this reason the interface between the two phases disappears. Supercritical fluid technology is a relatively new approach to obtain micro- and nanoparticles. For pharmaceutical applications, supercritical carbon dioxide (SC-CO2) is most widely used because of its low and easily accessible critical temperature and pressure (31.2 °C ... 

Neha, D. Novel cellulose nanoparticles for potential cosmetic and pharmaceutical applications. A Masters Thesis, Department of Chemical Engineering, University of Waterloo, Waterloo, Ontario, Canada, 2010. 

Dhar, N., 2010. Novel Cellulose Nanoparticles for Potential Cosmetic and Pharmaceutical Applications. University Press, Waterloo, ON. 

The emergence of bioactive food compounds (neutraceuticals) with health benefits provides an excellent opportunity to improve pubUc health. The incorporation of bioactive compounds, such as peptides and vitamins, into food systems holds much promise in the development of innovative functional foods that may have physiological benefits or reduce the risk of diseases. Compared to pharmaceutical applications, little work has been done on the encapsulation properties of chitosan nanoparticles for the oral administration of neutraceuticals in healthy food. More recently, chitosan has been identified as a versatile biopolymer for a broad range of health and food applications because of its safety and nontoxicity in human beings. Because chitosan matrix is not stable at very low pH, modificatimis to the chitosan micro- or nanoparticles might be able to protect them. 

Pharmaceutical Applications of Lyotropic Liquid Crystalline Nanoparticles... 

Muller M (2012) Sizing, shaping and pharmaceutical applications of polyelectrolyte complex nanoparticles. Adv Polym Sci. doi 10.1007/12 2012 170... 

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