Related topics: nanoparticles
Drug delivery
hideDrug delivery is the method or process of administering a pharmaceutical compound to achieve a therapeutic effect in humans or animals. Drug delivery technologies are patent protected formulation technologies that modify drug release profile, absorption, distribution and elimination for the benefit of improving product efficacy and safety, as well as patient convenience and compliance. Most common methods of delivery include the preferred non-invasive peroral (through the mouth), topical (skin), transmucosal (nasal, buccal/sublingual, vaginal, ocular and rectal) and inhalation routes. Many medications such as peptide and protein, antibody, vaccine and gene based drugs, in general may not be delivered using these routes because they might be susceptible to enzymatic degradation or can not be absorbed into the systemic circulation efficiently due to molecular size and charge issues to be therapeutically effective. For this reason many protein and peptide drugs have to be delivered by injection. For example, many immunizations are based on the delivery of protein drugs and are often done by injection.
Current efforts in the area of drug delivery include the development of targeted delivery in which the drug is only active in the target area of the body (for example, in cancerous tissues) and sustained release formulations in which the drug is released over a period of time in a controlled manner from a formulation. Types of sustained release formulations include liposomes, drug loaded biodegradable microspheres and drug polymer conjugates.
For more information about Drug delivery, read the full article at
Wikipedia.
This text uses material from Wikipedia and is available under the GNU Free Documentation License.
News tagged with drug delivery
Scientists Quantify Nanoparticle-Protein Interactions
Nanotechnology / Bio & Medicine
Jan 13, 2010 |
5 / 5 (1) |
0
|
(PhysOrg.com) -- A research team at the National Institute of Standards and Technology has quantified the interaction of gold nanoparticles with important proteins found in human blood, an approach that should ...
A coating for life: Biodegradable fibers advance stent technology and brain surgery, then disappear
Nov 24, 2009 |
4.8 / 5 (5) |
0
Stents that keep weakened and flabby arteries from collapsing have been true life-savers. But after six months, those stents are no longer needed -- once the arteries are strengthened, they become unnecessary. ...
When It Comes to Drug Delivery, Size Matters
Nanotechnology / Bio & Medicine
Nov 20, 2009 |
5 / 5 (2) |
0
(PhysOrg.com) -- One of the great promises of nanotechnologies lies in its ability to create drug-containing nanoparticles decorated with targeting molecules that recognize and bind to cancer cells, providing drug delivery ...
findNano app puts nanotech in your pocket
Nanotechnology / Bio & Medicine
Nov 12, 2009 |
5 / 5 (1) |
0
The Project on Emerging Nanotechnologies (PEN) has developed findNano, an application for Apple's iPhone and iPod Touch that lets users discover and determine whether consumer products are nanotechnology-enabled. Nanotechnology, ...
Spinal cord regeneration enabled by stabilizing, improving delivery of scar-degrading enzyme
Nov 02, 2009 |
4.2 / 5 (5) |
1
Researchers have developed an improved version of an enzyme that degrades the dense scar tissue that forms when the central nervous system is damaged. By digesting the tissue that blocks re-growth of damaged ...
Smart drug delivery system -- Gold nanocage covered with polymer (w/ Video)
Nov 01, 2009 |
5 / 5 (5) |
0
In campy old movies, Lucretia Borgia swans around emptying powder from her ring into wine glasses carelessly left unattended. The poison ring is usually a confection of gold filigree holding a cabochon or ...
Nano-Scale Drug Delivery For Chemotherapy
Nanotechnology / Bio & Medicine
Oct 31, 2009 |
4.7 / 5 (12) |
1
(PhysOrg.com) -- Going smaller could bring better results, especially when it comes to cancer-fighting drugs.
Magnetism Turns Drug Release On and Off
Nanotechnology / Bio & Medicine
Oct 30, 2009 |
5 / 5 (1) |
0
Many medical conditions, such as cancer, diabetes and chronic pain, require medications that cannot be taken orally, but must be dosed intermittently, on an as-needed basis, over a long period of time. A few delivery techniques ...
URI research couple's method targets cancerous tumors
Oct 27, 2009 |
not rated yet |
0
Two University of Rhode Island associate professors, biophysicists Yana Reshetnyak and Oleg Andreev, have discovered a technology that can detect cancerous tumors and deliver treatment to them without the harming the healthy ...
Optimized inhaler mouthpiece design allows for more effective drug delivery
Oct 21, 2009 |
2 / 5 (1) |
0
Researchers have developed an optimized mouthpiece design to aid efficient drug delivery to the lungs by reducing the amount of medication wasted as it passes through the mouthpiece of an aerosol inhaler. With current inhaler ...
Scientists Use Self-Assembly to Make Molecule-Sized Particles With Patches of Charge
Nanotechnology / Nanomaterials
Oct 20, 2009 |
5 / 5 (2) |
0
(PhysOrg.com) -- Physicists, chemists and engineers at the University of Pennsylvania have demonstrated a novel method for the controlled formation of patchy particles, using charged, self-assembling molecules ...
Blood vessel builders
Oct 13, 2009 |
4 / 5 (1) |
0
Futuristic plans to grow replacement organs, bones or muscles for soldiers maimed on the battlefield or patients suffering from debilitating disease or injury won't be anything but science fiction unless new blood vessels ...
Bioengineer uses nanoparticles to target drugs
Nanotechnology / Bio & Medicine
Oct 08, 2009 |
not rated yet |
0
Clemson bioengineer Frank Alexis is designing new ways to target drugs and reduce the chances for side effects.
Nanodiamonds Advance Anticancer Gene Therapy
Nanotechnology / Bio & Medicine
Sep 25, 2009 |
5 / 5 (4) |
0
(PhysOrg.com) -- Gene therapy holds promise in the treatment of cancer as well as a large number of other diseases. However, developing a scalable system for delivering genes to cells both efficiently and safely has been ...
Magnetic Nanoworms and Nanocrystals Deliver siRNA to Tumors
Nanotechnology / Bio & Medicine
Sep 23, 2009 |
not rated yet |
0
(PhysOrg.com) -- Small pieces of nucleic acid known as short interfering RNAs, or siRNAs, can turn off the production of specific proteins, a property that makes them one of the more promising new classes of anticancer drugs ...
