Micro and Nano-drug Delivery Systems
Traditional drug formulations deliver the payload by releasing it following relatively simple physical laws, such as drug solubility or controlling its diffusion. The drug cannot always be protected from being degraded by the physiologic environment, or from being released before reaching the site of action.
The process of encapsulating an active principle in a micro or nanosystem surrounding the active is itself an enormous scientific advancement in pharmaceutical science. Micro and nanoencapsulation of actives requires a great effort in establishing the best experimental conditions to preserve the drug from premature degradation, to assess the best components of the micro/nanosystem, to provide the most suitable processing conditions and to guarantee the desired therapeutic effect.
Last but not least, a possible industrial translation should always be taken into consideration during experimental planning. This chapter aims to give an overview of the preparation and therapeutic applications of micro/nano-drug delivery systems.
Article Information: Delia Mandracchia and Giuseppe Tripodo. CHAPTER 1: Micro and Nano-drug Delivery Systems , in Silk-based Drug Delivery Systems, 2020, pp. 1-24 DOI: 10.1039/9781839162664-00001