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.
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News tagged with drug delivery
Tiny delivery system with a big impact on cancer cells
Nanotechnology / Bio & Medicine
Dec 15, 2008 |
4.7 / 5 (18) |
1
Researchers in Pennsylvania are reporting for the first time that nanoparticles 1/5,000 the diameter of a human hair encapsulating an experimental anticancer agent, kill human melanoma and drug-resistant breast ...
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.
A fantastic voyage brought to life
Nanotechnology / Bio & Medicine
Jan 15, 2009 |
4 / 5 (9) |
4
Ever since the 1966 Hollywood movie, doctors have imagined a real-life Fantastic Voyage -- a medical vehicle shrunk small enough to "submarine" in and fix faulty cells in the body. Thanks to new research by ...
Scientists discover potential new drug delivery system
Aug 25, 2009 |
4.5 / 5 (8) |
0
(PhysOrg.com) -- Scientists at UC Santa Barbara have discovered a potential new drug delivery system. The finding is a biological mechanism for delivery of nanoparticles into tissue. The results are published ...
New genre of sugar-coated 'quantum dots' for drug delivery
Nanotechnology / Bio & Medicine
Mar 04, 2009 |
5 / 5 (7) |
0
(PhysOrg.com) -- Scientists in Switzerland are reporting an advance that could help tap the much-heralded potential of “quantum dots”— nanocrystals that glow when exposed to ultraviolet light — in the treatment of cancer ...
Cell discovery opens new chapter in drug development
Sep 08, 2009 |
5 / 5 (7) |
0
Scientists have uncovered new details about how the cells in our bodies communicate with each other and their environment: findings that are of fundamental importance to human biology.
Topical erectile dysfunction therapy shows promise (w/ Video)
Nanotechnology / Bio & Medicine
Sep 19, 2009 |
4.3 / 5 (7) |
0
An innovative drug-delivery system - nanoparticles encapsulating nitric oxide or prescription drugs - shows promise for topical treatment of erectile dysfunction (ED), according to a new study by scientists ...
Philips’ intelligent pill targets drug development and treatment for digestive tract diseases
Nov 11, 2008 |
4.8 / 5 (6) |
0
At this week's opening of the American Association of Pharmaceutical Scientists (AAPS) Annual Meeting and Exposition (Atlanta, USA, November 16-20, 2008) Philips Research will announce its new intelligent ...
When Nano May Not Be Nano
Nanotechnology / Bio & Medicine
Sep 13, 2009 |
3.3 / 5 (8) |
3
(PhysOrg.com) -- The same properties of nanoparticles that make them so appealing to manufacturers may also have negative effects on the environment and human health. However, little is known which particles ...
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 ...
Philips develops ultrasound-activated microbubbles for localized delivery of cancer drugs
Sep 30, 2008 |
4.8 / 5 (5) |
0
(PhysOrg.com) -- Philips is developing an ultrasound-based drug delivery technology that is designed to increase the effectiveness and reduce the side effects of chemotherapy treatment for certain types of ...
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. ...
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 ...
Scientists Build Nanostructures out of Single DNA Strands
Nanotechnology / Bio & Medicine
Sep 08, 2009 |
5 / 5 (4) |
5
(PhysOrg.com) -- With its unique double-helical structure, DNA has the ability to be used as a programmable building material to construct designer nanoscale architectures. Complex DNA architectures could ...
Using magnetism to turn drugs on and off
Nanotechnology / Bio & Medicine
Sep 18, 2009 |
4.8 / 5 (4) |
0
(PhysOrg.com) -- Many medical conditions, such as chronic pain, cancer and diabetes, require medications that cannot be taken orally, but must be dosed intermittently, on an as-needed basis, over a long period ...
