Pharmacology Research Today is a free monthly online journal that collates and summarizes the latest research about Pharmacology, including details on pharmacogenomics, drug development, new medications.

Role of nanotechnology in pharmaceutical product development.

Devalapally H, Chakilam A, Amiji MM

Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, School of Pharmacy, Northeastern University, 110 Mugar Life Sciences Building, Boston, Massachusetts 02115, USA.

A number of new molecular entities (NMEs) selected for full-scale development based on their safety and pharmacological data suffer from undesirable physicochemical and biopharmaceutical properties, which lead to poor pharmacokinetics and distribution after in vivo administration. An optimization of the preformulation studies to develop a dosage form with proper drug delivery system to achieve desirable pharmacokinetic and toxicological properties can aid in the accelerated development of these NMEs into therapies. Nanoparticulate drug delivery systems show a promising approach to obtain desirable druglike properties by altering the biopharmaceutics and pharmacokinetics properties of the molecule. Apart from the advantages of enhancing potential for systemic administration, nanoparticulate drug delivery systems can also be used for site-specific delivery, thus alleviating unwanted toxicity due to nonspecific distribution, improve patient compliance, and provide favorable clinical outcomes. This review summarizes some of the parameters and approaches that can be used to evaluate nanoparticulate drug delivery systems in early stages of formulation development.

Published 3 September 2007 in J Pharm Sci, 96(10): 2547-65.
Full-text of this article is available online (may require subscription).

© 2005-2008 Pharmacology Research Today. All Rights Reserved.