An Overview of the Recent Developments and Patents in the Field of Pharmaceutical Nanotechnology.

Background: Compared to traditional dosage methods, the Novel Drug Delivery Systems (NDDS) provide various advantages. In the last few years, the interest shifted to works focused on the novel drug delivery methods for small and large molecular drug carriers utilizing particulate drug delivery systems as well. It is evident from the last decade as observed in increased number of patents in this field that the technology has evolved tremendously.

Objective: Drug carriers utilized by this novel technology include liposomes, dendrimers, polymeric nanoparticles, magnetic nanoparticles, solid lipid nanoparticles, and carbon nanomaterials. Various forms of polymers have been used in the production of nanocarriers.

Methods: Nanocarriers are colloidal systems varying in size from 10 to 1000 nm. This technology is now used to identify, manage and monitor numerous diseases and physical methods to alter and enhance the pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamic properties of specific types of drug molecules.

Results: Nanoparticles can be formulated by a number of techniques including ionic gelation, crosslinking, coacervation/precipitation, nanoprecipitation, spray drying, emulsion- droplet coalescence, nano sonication techniques, etc. Several methods are used with which these nanoparticles can be characterized. These methods include nuclear magnetic resonance, optical microscopy, atomic force microscopy, photon correlation spectroscopy and electron microscopy, surface charge, in-vitro drug release, etc. Conclusion: In the present review, the authors have tried to summarize recent advances in the field of pharmaceutical nanotechnology and also focused on the application and new patents in the area related to NDDS.