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Advanced Nanocarriers for Enhanced Drug Safety, Stability, Bioavailability, and Therapeutic Effects

A special issue of Applied Sciences (ISSN 2076-3417). This special issue belongs to the section "Applied Biosciences and Bioengineering".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 31 May 2025 | Viewed by 4245

Special Issue Editor


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Guest Editor
The Institute of Molecular Medicine, The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston, Houston, TX 77030, USA
Interests: drug delivery; lipid nanoparticles; bioavailability; DSC; FTIR; dissolution; solubility; HPLC; separation; pharmaceutical analysis; LC–MS; proteomics; proteome
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Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Over the past few decades, a broad range of nanocarriers have been developed for the delivery of drugs in an effort to increase their solubility, absorption, bioavailability, stability, and therapeutic effects. They include micelles, nanoemulsions, liposomes, polymeric nanoparticles, lipid nanoparticles, nanostructured lipid carriers, and inorganic nanoparticles. Nanocarriers have been successfully used for various drug delivery applications, such as the delivery of small molecules, proteins, peptides, and genes, to treat many diseases. Currently, some drug-loaded nanocarriers have been approved for clinical use as nanomedicines.

Despite the advancement of nanomedicines in recent years, there is still a need to develop more of them to improve drug safety, stability, bioavailability, and therapeutic effects on different diseases. Alongside the bioavailability and therapeutic effects addressed in many studies, safety and stability are two critical aspects of nanocarriers that require in-depth investigation in preclinical studies.

In this Special Issue, we welcome reviews and original research on developing and characterizing nanocarriers for drug delivery, primarily focusing on improving drug safety, stability, bioavailability, and therapeutic effects. This includes, but is not limited to, the development and applications of nanocarriers for enhancing bioavailability and the treatment of various diseases; the investigation of the safety and stability of nanocarriers; and comprehensive reviews of drug, protein, or gene delivery advances using different types of nanocarriers.

Dr. Van-An Duong
Guest Editor

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Keywords

  • nanocarrier
  • nanoparticles
  • bioavailability
  • lipid
  • polymer
  • pharmacokinetics
  • safety
  • stability

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Published Papers (3 papers)

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Research

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18 pages, 4197 KiB  
Article
Smart Poly(acrylic acid)/Poly(acrylamide) Microgels with Interpenetrating Polymer Network Structure
by Marin Simeonov, Pavletta Shestakova, Susanne Boye, Albena Lederer and Elena Vassileva
Appl. Sci. 2024, 14(24), 11562; https://doi.org/10.3390/app142411562 - 11 Dec 2024
Viewed by 764
Abstract
Microgels with precisely tuned properties are of great importance as drug delivery systems. Here, we report the synthesis of microgel particles (MGs) with an interpenetrating polymer network structure composed of poly(acrylic acid) (PAA) and polyacrylamide (PAAM) for their potential application as cationic drug [...] Read more.
Microgels with precisely tuned properties are of great importance as drug delivery systems. Here, we report the synthesis of microgel particles (MGs) with an interpenetrating polymer network structure composed of poly(acrylic acid) (PAA) and polyacrylamide (PAAM) for their potential application as cationic drug carriers. The MG properties were investigated via several analytical techniques, such as Dynamic Light Scattering (DLS) and zeta potential (ZP) measurements, Diffusion Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR) spectroscopy, Asymmetrical Flow Field-Flow Fractionation (AF4) and Transmission Electron Microscopy (TEM). The MGs show pH-dependent swelling behavior with a radius of ~100 nm at collapsed state (pH < 4.5) and swell up to ~450 nm (pH~7), while their ZP decreases from −5 to −40 mV, depending on their composition. The results of the conducted studies demonstrate the potential of synthesized microgels for drug delivery in the gastrointestinal tract. Full article
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Review

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20 pages, 1424 KiB  
Review
Targeted Lipid-Based Drug Delivery Systems for Lung Cancer Therapy
by Maria Apostolou, Amos A. Fatokun, Sulaf Assi and Iftikhar Khan
Appl. Sci. 2024, 14(15), 6759; https://doi.org/10.3390/app14156759 - 2 Aug 2024
Cited by 2 | Viewed by 1781
Abstract
The aim of this study was to review the literature to explore the lipid-based drug delivery systems that have been investigated for improved treatment of lung cancers. Such lipid-based drug delivery systems include microemulsions, liposomes, transferosomes, niosomes, solid lipid nanoparticles (SLNs) and nanostructured [...] Read more.
The aim of this study was to review the literature to explore the lipid-based drug delivery systems that have been investigated for improved treatment of lung cancers. Such lipid-based drug delivery systems include microemulsions, liposomes, transferosomes, niosomes, solid lipid nanoparticles (SLNs) and nanostructured lipid carriers (NLCs). In order to minimise the side effects of chemotherapeutic active pharmaceutical ingredients, surface modification with various ligands has been introduced so that the delivery system will attach only to specific receptors which are overexpressed in lung cancer cells. This review briefly explored cancers and their aetiologies and risk factors, especially lung cancer. It then discussed different modifications that have been performed on the drug delivery systems to successfully treat lung cancer. The use of different ligands has also been investigated in this review. The particle size of drug delivery systems after the attachment of the ligand remained small, varying from 75 to 189 nm, which was the most significant physicochemical property during development as it affected the delivery of particles to specific sites in the lungs. Overall, evidence suggests that surface modified lipid-based drug delivery systems have significant potential to revolutionise the treatment of lung cancer, leading to reduced side effects from chemotherapy. Full article
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Other

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25 pages, 3611 KiB  
Systematic Review
Nanoparticles Combining Gene Therapy and Chemotherapy as a Treatment for Gastrointestinal Tumors: A Systematic Review
by Jorge Rodríguez-Criado, Francisco Quiñonero, Jose Prados and Consolacion Melguizo
Appl. Sci. 2024, 14(17), 7872; https://doi.org/10.3390/app14177872 - 4 Sep 2024
Viewed by 1291
Abstract
Gastrointestinal cancer is one of the greatest challenges for biomedical research, accounting for one-quarter of diagnoses and one-third of deaths nowadays, due to the existence of drug resistance mechanisms that prevent therapeutic efficacy in advanced stages. Nanotechnology has been shown to be an [...] Read more.
Gastrointestinal cancer is one of the greatest challenges for biomedical research, accounting for one-quarter of diagnoses and one-third of deaths nowadays, due to the existence of drug resistance mechanisms that prevent therapeutic efficacy in advanced stages. Nanotechnology has been shown to be an effective strategy for the evasion of this phenomenon, and gene silencing by siRNA makes it possible to decrease the expression of certain genes involved in chemoresistance and tumor progression. Our review analyzed studies published during the last 5 years that combined siRNA gene inhibition and chemotherapy as treatment of different gastrointestinal tumors. This review was carried out by searching PubMed, SCOPUS and WoS databases, where 49 articles were finally selected. The results showed that simultaneous encapsulation of siRNA targeting different genes involved in cancer and chemotherapy were more effective at the preclinical level compared to the administration of both treatments individually. The cytotoxic effect was generated through increased induction of apoptosis derived from the dysregulation of chemoresistance-related pathways, producing a decrease in tumor volume and an increase in survival of mice in in vivo assays. Therefore, the combination of both therapies in the same nanoformulation appears to be an interesting therapeutic strategy for the treatment of gastrointestinal tumors. Full article
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