Title:Nanocarriers and Diabetes: New Vistas and the Way Ahead
Volume: 24
Issue: 11
Author(s): Pankaj V. Dixit, Dinesh K. Mishra*, Sanjay Sharma and Rupesh K. Gautam*
Affiliation:
- Indore Institute of Pharmacy, IIST Campus, Opposite IIM Indore, Rau-Pithampur Road, Indore, 453331 (M.P.), India
- Indore Institute of Pharmacy, IIST Campus, Opposite IIM Indore, Rau-Pithampur Road, Indore, 453331 (M.P.), India
Keywords:
Hypoglycemic agents, liposomes, ethosomes, niosomes, transfersomes, dendrimers, cancer, diabetic complications.
Abstract: World Health Organization has reported an estimated 1.5 million deaths directly due to
diabetes in 2019. Center for Disease Control and Prevention, in its National Diabetes Statistics Report,
2020, says that 1 in 10 United States residents has diabetes. This rapid progression of diabetes
is noteworthy despite significant advances in the field of antidiabetic medicine. The critical challenges
in treatment are dyslipidemia, hyperinsulinemia, and hyperglycemia. The latest research has
also linked diabetes to carcinogenesis. The diabetic condition accelerates cell growth, proliferation,
migration, inflammation, angiogenesis, metastasis, and inhibition of apoptosis in cancer cells. In
addition, diabetic complications of nephropathy, retinopathy, neuropathy, cardiomyopathy, peripheral
arterial disease, coronary artery disease, and stroke increase morbidity. Amidst all these challenges,
a ray of hope is the advent of nanocarriers. The nano size helps in the targeted and controlled
delivery of drugs. In addition, nanocarrier formulation helps in the delivery of acid-labile and enzyme-
labile molecules and plant-based macromolecules via the oral route. Its use in the form of
dendrimers, ethosomes, niosomes, transfersomes, and polymeric nanoparticles is established. In
addition, different polymers used to formulate nanocarriers are also established for targeting diabetes.
Thus, this review aims to compile approaches involving the use of nanocarriers for the betterment
of pharmacotherapy of diabetes and to provide a way ahead for researchers in the field.