Nanotechnology, nano-systems and applications of nanoparticles in novel drug delivery - a comprehensive review

Nanotechnology is one of the most important research fields and is widely being used in various subareas of medicine like prevention, mitigation and therapy. It has enabled novel drug applications with particle dimensions ranging from 1 to 100 nm. The physical, biological, and chemical properties of various active pharmaceutical ingredients could be improved. Nanoparticles provide a greater advantage over conventional drug delivery systems and enhance drug performance by enhancing solubility, bioavailability, surface area, and dissolution rate, and by reducing dose, inter-patient variability and fed or fasted state variability. Nanosystems have various types, such as carbon nanotubes, dendrimers, liposomes, metallic nanoparticles, nanocrystal quantum dots, polymeric micelles, and polymeric nanoparticles. Nanomedicine serves various benefits in the prevention of premature drug degradation, improvement of drug intracellular permeability, enhancement of tissue absorption, and interaction with the organic and biological environment. The current review provides updated advances in the field of nanomedicine, promising aspects of nanotechnology in drug delivery, and types of nanoparticles that can serve in the treatment of diseases as novel carriers.