Nanomaterials have been widely employed in the medical profession in
recent decades, thanks to the rapid development of nanotechnology. Their distinctive
physical and chemical qualities, such as minimal size, functionalized surface
characteristics, stable interactions with ligands, high carrier capacity, and ease of
binding with both hydrophilic and hydrophobic substances have made them ideal
platforms for the target-specific and controlled delivery of micro-and macromolecules
in disease therapy and have revealed an excellent potential pertaining to clinical entities
with the goal of fine-tuning bioavailability, bioefficacy, and pharmacokinetics. The
absorption, post-administration stability as well as bioavailability of bioactive drugs
and other medicinal substances are the key issues. Some critical medications have low
gastrointestinal absorption and permeability in their active form, are inactivated by pH
and temperature fluctuations and cause catastrophic off-target and undesirable side
effects. Certain investigations have also indicated that active efflux mechanisms affect
the absorption of some presently integrated compounds with structural alterations
across the intestinal wall. Furthermore, intestinal bacteria and/or enzymes break down
fragile structures of active substances into a variety of metabolites, each of which has
different bioactivity than the original chemical compound. Nanocarrier-mediated
distribution improved their solubilization potential, changed absorption paths, and
reduced metabolic breakdown by gut bacteria and enzymes. Combining
nanobiotechnology with current therapeutic techniques has shown to be effective in
bringing innovative and previously rejected bioactive substances to the market for
treating a myriad of diseases and disorders. As a result, we predict that nanotechnology
will play a larger role in illness detection and treatment in the future, perhaps helping to
overcome bottlenecks in current medical approaches. This chapter focuses on a
comprehensive discussion of strategies and applications of nanoengineered delivery
systems along with the pharmacokinetic properties and drug-delivery mechanism of these nanocarriers. Probably associated drawbacks, challenges, future advancements,
and scopes of nanocarriers in clinical care are also highlighted.
Keywords: Controlled release, Dendrimers, Liposomes, Nanocapsules, Nanogels, Nanocrystals, Nanosuspensions, Nanowires, Polymeric micelles, Quantum dots.
