Injected nanocrystals for targeted drug delivery.
10.1016/j.apsb.2015.11.005
- Author:
Yi LU
1
;
Ye LI
2
;
Wei WU
1
Author Information
1. Department of Pharmaceutics, School of Pharmacy, Fudan University, Shanghai 201203, China.
2. Shaanxi Academy of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Xi׳an 710003, China.
- Publication Type:Journal Article
- Keywords:
Biodistribution;
Encapsulation;
Ligand;
Nanocrystals;
Stimuli response;
Targeted drug delivery
- From:
Acta Pharmaceutica Sinica B
2016;6(2):106-113
- CountryChina
- Language:English
-
Abstract:
Nanocrystals are pure drug crystals with sizes in the nanometer range. Due to the advantages of high drug loading, platform stability, and ease of scaling-up, nanocrystals have been widely used to deliver poorly water-soluble drugs. Nanocrystals in the blood stream can be recognized and sequestered as exogenous materials by mononuclear phagocytic system (MPS) cells, leading to passive accumulation in MPS-rich organs, such as liver, spleen and lung. Particle size, morphology and surface modification affect the biodistribution of nanocrystals. Ligand conjugation and stimuli-responsive polymers can also be used to target nanocrystals to specific pathogenic sites. In this review, the progress on injected nanocrystals for targeted drug delivery is discussed following a brief introduction to nanocrystal preparation methods, i.e., top-down and bottom-up technologies.
