Nanomedicine is a relatively new and rapidly evolving field combining nanotechnology with the biomedical and pharmaceutical sciences.1-3 Nanoparticles (NPs) can impart many pharmacokinetic, efficacy, safety, and targeting benefits when they are included in drug formulations.1-5 Many nanodrugs have entered clinical practice, and even more are being investigated in clinical trials for a wide variety of indications.2 However, nanopharmaceuticals also face challenges, such as the need for better characterization, possible toxicity issues, a lack of specific regulatory guidelines, cost-benefit considerations, and waning enthusiasm among some health care professionals. 4,5 For these reasons, expectations regarding nanodrugs that are in early stages of development or clinical trials need to remain realistic.4.

Progress in Nanomedicine: Approved and Investigational Nanodrugs.

Nanotechnology in drug delivery has been manifested into nanoparticles that can have unique properties both in vitro and in vivo, especially in targeted drug delivery to tumors. Numerous nanoparticle formulations have been designed and tested to great effect in small animal models, but the translation of the small animal results to clinical success has been limited. Successful translation requires revisiting the meaning of nanotechnology in drug delivery, understanding the limitations of nanoparticles, identifying the misconceptions pervasive in the field, and facing inconvenient truths. Nanoparticle approaches can have real impact in improving drug delivery by focusing on the problems at hand, such as enhancing their drug loading capacity, affinity to target cells, and spatiotemporal control of drug release.

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Facing the Truth about Nanotechnology in Drug Delivery

Drug self-delivery systems for cancer therapy

Stability of nanosuspensions in drug delivery.

Nanoparticles for oral delivery: Design, evaluation and state-of-the-art.

Drug nanocrystals: In vivo performances

The limited solubility and dissolution rate exhibited by poorly soluble drugs is major challenges in the pharmaceutical process. Following oral administration, the poorly soluble drugs generally show a low and erratic bioavailability which may lead to therapeutic failure. Pure drug nanocrystals, generated by “bottom up” or “top down” technologies, facilitate a significant improvement on dissolution behavior of poorly soluble drugs due to their enormous surface area, which in turn lead to substantial improvement in oral absorption. This is the most distinguished achievement of drug nanocrystals among their performances in various administration routes, reflected by the fact that most of the marketed products based on the nanocrystals technology are for oral application. After detailed investigations on various technologies associated with production of drug nanocrystals and their in vitro physicochemical properties, during the last decade more attentions have been paid into their in vivo behaviors. This review mainly describes the in vivo performances of oral drug nanocrystals exhibited in animals related to the pharmacokinetic, efficacy and safety characteristics. The technologies and evaluation associated with the solidification process of the drug nanocrystals suspensions were also discussed in detail.

Application of Drug Nanocrystal Technologies on Oral Drug Delivery of Poorly Soluble Drugs

Evaluation of TPGS-modified thermo-sensitive Pluronic PF127 hydrogel as a potential carrier to reverse the resistance of P-gp-overexpressing SMMC-7721 cell lines.

http://www.scielo.br/pdf/clin/v70n6/1807-5932-clin-70-06-453.pdf

Risk of congenital anomalies associated with antithyroid treatment during pregnancy: a meta-analysis

The pathogenesis of increased blood–brain barrier permeability during Cryptococcus meningitis is still largely unknown. Interleukin (IL-6) is a multifunctional cytokine, and numerous studies have shown that IL‐6 influences the integrity of the blood–brain barrier. In this study we investigated the role of IL-6 in Cryptococcus meningitis. First, wild-type or IL-6−/− mice were injected with Cryptococcus neoformans (C. neoformans) and the survival time in both groups was recorded. Second, the number of fungi was measured in the brains of IL-6−/− wild-type mice. Finally, the blood–brain barrier permeability index was detected in infected IL-6−/− mice treated with recombinant human IL-6. The blood–brain barrier permeability index was measured in infected wild-type mice treated with anti-IL-6 antibodies as well. The survival of IL-6−/− mice injected with C. neoformans was significantly lower than that of identically challenged wild-type mice. The infected IL-6−/− mice had significantly larger brain fungal burdens than wild-type mice. Furthermore, increased blood–brain barrier index was found in infected IL-6−/− mice when compared with that in infected control mice. Similar results were obtained when mice challenged with C. neoformans were treated systemically with neutralizing anti-IL-6 antibodies, resulting in an elevation of vascular permeability. Our data revealed that IL-6 reduced the blood–brain barrier permeability during Cryptococcus meningitis, and it might provide an explanation for the significantly lower survival of infected IL-6−/− mice.

Liang Zhou

Papers

Drug nanocrystals: In vivo performances

Application of Drug Nanocrystal Technologies on Oral Drug Delivery of Poorly Soluble Drugs

Evaluation of TPGS-modified thermo-sensitive Pluronic PF127 hydrogel as a potential carrier to reverse the resistance of P-gp-overexpressing SMMC-7721 cell lines.

Risk of congenital anomalies associated with antithyroid treatment during pregnancy: a meta-analysis

Lack of IL-6 increases blood-brain barrier permeability in fungal meningitis.