Abstract
Liquid systems containing droplets with size in the nanoscale range are attractive from both scientific and technological points of view as they have many current and potential applications in several industries and products. The formation and stabilization of nano-droplet systems are mostly based on the self-assembly of surfactant (amphiphilic) molecules at interfaces, driven by the solvophobic effect. Surfactants are involved in both top-bottom (high energy) and bottom- up (low energy) methods. Several devices have also been developed to aid in liquid fragmentation down to the nanometer scale. Nano-droplet systems can be both thermodynamically stable (microemulsions) or metastable (nanoemulsions), and appropriate formulation is a key for optimum product design in terms of droplet size, maximum solubilization, colloidal stability, and optical and rheological properties, among others. Such characteristics are determined by molecular packing, interfacial curvature, droplet-droplet interactions, film elasticity and nature of the dispersed and continuous phase. These properties can be engineered by proper understanding of the molecular structure and phase behavior of the multicomponent systems involved and by a range of experimental characterization techniques. Nano-droplet systems can help to solve specific issues in pharmaceutical products such as processing, limitations in drug solubility or stability, control on drug release, drug targeting and absorption; there are many examples to prove that. However, several practical aspects should be considered for preclinical and clinical tests and product development.
Keywords: Microemulsions, nano-emulsions, surfactants, drugs, pharmaceuticals.
Current Topics in Medicinal Chemistry
Title:Nano-droplet Systems by Surfactant Self-assembly and Applications in the Pharmaceutical Industry
Volume: 14 Issue: 6
Author(s): Carlos Rodríguez-Abreu and Ana Vila
Affiliation:
Keywords: Microemulsions, nano-emulsions, surfactants, drugs, pharmaceuticals.
Abstract: Liquid systems containing droplets with size in the nanoscale range are attractive from both scientific and technological points of view as they have many current and potential applications in several industries and products. The formation and stabilization of nano-droplet systems are mostly based on the self-assembly of surfactant (amphiphilic) molecules at interfaces, driven by the solvophobic effect. Surfactants are involved in both top-bottom (high energy) and bottom- up (low energy) methods. Several devices have also been developed to aid in liquid fragmentation down to the nanometer scale. Nano-droplet systems can be both thermodynamically stable (microemulsions) or metastable (nanoemulsions), and appropriate formulation is a key for optimum product design in terms of droplet size, maximum solubilization, colloidal stability, and optical and rheological properties, among others. Such characteristics are determined by molecular packing, interfacial curvature, droplet-droplet interactions, film elasticity and nature of the dispersed and continuous phase. These properties can be engineered by proper understanding of the molecular structure and phase behavior of the multicomponent systems involved and by a range of experimental characterization techniques. Nano-droplet systems can help to solve specific issues in pharmaceutical products such as processing, limitations in drug solubility or stability, control on drug release, drug targeting and absorption; there are many examples to prove that. However, several practical aspects should be considered for preclinical and clinical tests and product development.
Export Options
About this article
Cite this article as:
Rodríguez-Abreu Carlos and Vila Ana, Nano-droplet Systems by Surfactant Self-assembly and Applications in the Pharmaceutical Industry, Current Topics in Medicinal Chemistry 2014; 14 (6) . https://dx.doi.org/10.2174/1568026614666140118221658
DOI https://dx.doi.org/10.2174/1568026614666140118221658 |
Print ISSN 1568-0266 |
Publisher Name Bentham Science Publisher |
Online ISSN 1873-4294 |
Call for Papers in Thematic Issues
Chemistry Based on Natural Products for Therapeutic Purposes
The development of new pharmaceuticals for a wide range of medical conditions has long relied on the identification of promising natural products (NPs). There are over sixty percent of cancer, infectious illness, and CNS disease medications that include an NP pharmacophore, according to the Food and Drug Administration. Since NP ...read more
Current Trends in Drug Discovery Based on Artificial Intelligence and Computer-Aided Drug Design
Drug development discovery has faced several challenges over the years. In fact, the evolution of classical approaches to modern methods using computational methods, or Computer-Aided Drug Design (CADD), has shown promising and essential results in any drug discovery campaign. Among these methods, molecular docking is one of the most notable ...read more
Drug Discovery in the Age of Artificial Intelligence
In the age of artificial intelligence (AI), we have witnessed a significant boom in AI techniques for drug discovery. AI techniques are increasingly integrated and accelerating the drug discovery process. These developments have not only attracted the attention of academia and industry but also raised important questions regarding the selection ...read more
From Biodiversity to Chemical Diversity: Focus of Flavonoids
Flavonoids are the largest group of polyphenols, plant secondary metabolites arising from the essential aromatic amino acid phenylalanine (or more rarely from tyrosine) via the phenylpropanoid pathway. The flavan nucleus is the basic 15-carbon skeleton of flavonoids (C6-C3-C6), which consists of two phenyl rings (A and B) and a heterocyclic ...read more
- Author Guidelines
- Graphical Abstracts
- Fabricating and Stating False Information
- Research Misconduct
- Post Publication Discussions and Corrections
- Publishing Ethics and Rectitude
- Increase Visibility of Your Article
- Archiving Policies
- Peer Review Workflow
- Order Your Article Before Print
- Promote Your Article
- Manuscript Transfer Facility
- Editorial Policies
- Allegations from Whistleblowers
- Announcements
Related Articles
-
Synthesis of Glutamate-Zinc-Aluminium-Layered Double Hydroxide Nanobiocomposites and Cell Viability Study
Current Nanoscience Role of Micronutrients: Boron and Molybdenum in Crops and in Human Health and Nutrition
Current Nutrition & Food Science Development and Validation of a Highly Sensitive HPLC Method for Determination of Paclitaxel in Pharmaceutical Dosage forms and Biological Samples
Current Pharmaceutical Analysis A Concise Review on Multidimensional Silver Nanoparticle Health Aids and Threats
Current Drug Therapy Achievements and Challenges of Proteomics in the Study of Rheumatoid Arthritis
Current Topics in Medicinal Chemistry Current Drug Nano-targeting Strategies for Improvement in the Diagnosis and Treatment of Prevalent Pathologies such as Cardiovascular and Renal Diseases
Current Drug Targets Focus on the Multimodal Role of Biomarkers in Breast Cancer
Current Pharmaceutical Design Design, Synthesis and in silico Studies of New 5-substituted-2-(2-(5-aryl- 1H-1, 2, 4-triazole-3-ylthio) acetyl) Hydrazine Carbothioamide/ Carboxamides for Anticonvulsant Activity
Letters in Drug Design & Discovery Pharma-metabolomics in Neonatology: is it a Dream or a Fact?
Current Pharmaceutical Design Moving to the Rhythm with Clock (Circadian) Genes, Autophagy, mTOR, and SIRT1 in Degenerative Disease and Cancer
Current Neurovascular Research Neonatal Germ Cell Tumors
Current Pediatric Reviews Phytotherapeutic Agents for Benign Prostatic Hyperplasia: An Overview
Mini-Reviews in Medicinal Chemistry Cytarabine and Ferric Carboxymaltose (Fe+3) Increase Oxidative Damage and Alter Serotonergic Metabolism in Brain
CNS & Neurological Disorders - Drug Targets Monosaccharide Compositional Analysis of Glycoproteins Using Liquid Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry
Current Proteomics Lysophospholipids: Their Generation, Physiological Role and Detection. Are They Important Disease Markers?
Mini-Reviews in Medicinal Chemistry MEMS and Microfluidics for Diagnostics Devices
Current Pharmaceutical Biotechnology Antioxidant Activity of New Benzo[de]quinolines and Lactams: 2DQuantitative Structure-Activity Relationships
Medicinal Chemistry Jumping on the Train of Personalized Medicine: A Primer for Non-Geneticist Clinicians: Part 2. Fundamental Concepts in Genetic Epidemiology
Current Psychiatry Reviews Tetracyclic Triterpenoids in Herbal Medicines and their Activities in Diabetes and its Complications
Current Topics in Medicinal Chemistry Lipoidal-Nano Architecture for Parental Drug Delivery: Formulation Development and Regulatory Concerns
Current Applied Polymer Science