The biological and biomedical nanoparticles - synthesis and applications

Advances in nanotechnology have impacted the field of therapeutics delivery significantly. This is evidenced by the increase in the number of nanoparticle-based therapeutic products in development over the last two decades. A 2006 global survey conducted by the European Science and Technology Observatory (ESTO) revealed that more than 150 companies are developing nanoscale therapeutics, and 24 nanoparticles therapeutics are currently in clinical use. These drugs are being developed to treat a wide range of diseases, such as fungal or bacterial infections, HIV infections, diabetes and cancers. There are several advantages of using nanoparticles for therapeutics delivery. The use of materials on the nanoscale level provides unprecedented freedom to modify some of the most fundamental properties of therapeutic carriers, such as solubility, diffusivity, bio distribution, release characteristics and immunogenicity. Precise nanoparticle engineering has yielded longer circulation half-lives, superior bioavailability and lower toxicity. For example, the liposomal encapsulation of doxorubicin significantly reduces its most serious and dose-limiting side effect, cardiac toxicity.