Nanopharmaceuticals I: nanocarrier systems in drug delivery

To achieve maximum pharmacological effects with minimum side effects of drugs, drugs should be delivered to target sites without significant distribution to non-target areas. Using pharmaceutical nanocarrier systems for drug delivery is a useful delivery platform for improving target specificity, therapeutic activity, and reducing toxicity of drugs. Various sophisticated nanocarrier systems have been developed for drug delivery, and this review focuses on liposomes, polymeric nanoparticles, polymeric micelles, lipid nanoparticles, microemulsions, nanogels, and submicron lipid emulsions. This review outlines and explores nanocarrier systems for drug delivery by various administration routes including parenteral, oral, transdermal, pulmonary, ocular, and mucosal and discusses the product development and related issues in nanopharmaceutical drug delivery.