Abstract
For a variety of diseases, effective therapy is severely limited or rendered impossible due to an inability to deliver medications to the intended sites of action. Multiple barriers exist through the body, which have evolved over time to limit the migration of foreign compounds from entering the tissues. Turning toward biology as inspiration, it has been the general goal of drug delivery to create carrier strategies that mimic, in part, features of bacteria/ viruses that allow them overcome these barriers. By packaging drugs into nano and micron scale vehicles, it should be possible to completely change the biodistribution and residence times of pharmaceutically active compounds. Recently, due to advances in formulation technologies, it has become possible to control not just the material selection, surface chemistry, and/or size, but also the overall geometry and plasticity of the drug carriers. These approaches aid in the formulation of nonspherical particles such as, discs, rods, and even unique structures such as cubes and nanodiamonds. The adjustment of size and shape can be used for the aid or prevention in cellular uptake and also to overcome the vascular and mucosal barrier. In this review, we present a summary of some approaches used to control carrier shape and the impact these geometries have upon drug transport across biological barriers.
Keywords: Nanocarriers, internalization, drug targeting, nanoparticles.
Current Pharmaceutical Design
Title:The Role of Carrier Geometry in Overcoming Biological Barriers to Drug Delivery
Volume: 22 Issue: 9
Author(s): Carolyn Jordan, Vladimir V. Shuvaev, Mark Bailey, Vladimir R. Muzykantov and Thomas D. Dziubla
Affiliation:
Keywords: Nanocarriers, internalization, drug targeting, nanoparticles.
Abstract: For a variety of diseases, effective therapy is severely limited or rendered impossible due to an inability to deliver medications to the intended sites of action. Multiple barriers exist through the body, which have evolved over time to limit the migration of foreign compounds from entering the tissues. Turning toward biology as inspiration, it has been the general goal of drug delivery to create carrier strategies that mimic, in part, features of bacteria/ viruses that allow them overcome these barriers. By packaging drugs into nano and micron scale vehicles, it should be possible to completely change the biodistribution and residence times of pharmaceutically active compounds. Recently, due to advances in formulation technologies, it has become possible to control not just the material selection, surface chemistry, and/or size, but also the overall geometry and plasticity of the drug carriers. These approaches aid in the formulation of nonspherical particles such as, discs, rods, and even unique structures such as cubes and nanodiamonds. The adjustment of size and shape can be used for the aid or prevention in cellular uptake and also to overcome the vascular and mucosal barrier. In this review, we present a summary of some approaches used to control carrier shape and the impact these geometries have upon drug transport across biological barriers.
Export Options
About this article
Cite this article as:
Jordan Carolyn, Shuvaev V. Vladimir, Bailey Mark, Muzykantov R. Vladimir and Dziubla D. Thomas, The Role of Carrier Geometry in Overcoming Biological Barriers to Drug Delivery, Current Pharmaceutical Design 2016; 22 (9) . https://dx.doi.org/10.2174/1381612822666151216151856
DOI https://dx.doi.org/10.2174/1381612822666151216151856 |
Print ISSN 1381-6128 |
Publisher Name Bentham Science Publisher |
Online ISSN 1873-4286 |
Call for Papers in Thematic Issues
"Tuberculosis Prevention, Diagnosis and Drug Discovery"
The Nobel Prize-winning discoveries of Mycobacterium tuberculosis and streptomycin have enabled an appropriate diagnosis and an effective treatment of tuberculosis (TB). Since then, many newer diagnosis methods and drugs have been saving millions of lives. Despite advances in the past, TB is still a leading cause of infectious disease mortality ...read more
Current Pharmaceutical challenges in the treatment and diagnosis of neurological dysfunctions
Neurological dysfunctions (MND, ALS, MS, PD, AD, HD, ALS, Autism, OCD etc..) present significant challenges in both diagnosis and treatment, often necessitating innovative approaches and therapeutic interventions. This thematic issue aims to explore the current pharmaceutical landscape surrounding neurological disorders, shedding light on the challenges faced by researchers, clinicians, and ...read more
Emerging and re-emerging diseases
Faced with a possible endemic situation of COVID-19, the world has experienced two important phenomena, the emergence of new infectious diseases and/or the resurgence of previously eradicated infectious diseases. Furthermore, the geographic distribution of such diseases has also undergone changes. This context, in turn, may have a strong relationship with ...read more
Melanoma and Non-Melanoma Skin Cancer Treatment: Standard of Care and Recent Advances
In this thematic issue, we aim to provide a standard of care of the diagnosis and treatment of melanoma and non-melanoma skin cancer. The editor will invite authors from different countries who will write review articles of melanoma and non-melanoma skin cancers. The Diagnosis, Staging, Surgical Treatment, Non-Surgical Treatment all ...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
-
Small Regulatory Molecules Acting Big in Cancer: Potential Role of Mito-miRs in Cancer
Current Molecular Medicine Metabotropic Glutamate Receptors in the Trafficking of Ionotropic Glutamate and GABAA Receptors at Central Synapses
Current Neuropharmacology Gender Hormones: Role in the Pathogenesis of Central Nervous System Disease and Demyelination
Current Neurovascular Research The Transcription Factor ETS-1: Its Role in Tumour Development and Strategies for its Inhibition
Mini-Reviews in Medicinal Chemistry Zebrafish: Predictive Model for Targeted Cancer Therapeutics from Nature
Current Cancer Drug Targets Targeted Cancer Therapeutics: Biosynthetic and Energetic Pathways Characterized by Metabolomics and the Interplay with Key Cancer Regulatory Factors
Current Pharmaceutical Design Lessons Learned from the Irinotecan Metabolic Pathway
Current Medicinal Chemistry Review of Noscapine and its Analogues as Potential Anti-Cancer Drugs
Mini-Reviews in Organic Chemistry Editorial (Thematic Issue: “Alkaloids in Nature: Synthesis, Isolation and Pharmacological Applications” Part 2)
Current Topics in Medicinal Chemistry Novel Gastrin Receptor-Directed Contrast Agents - Potential in Brain Tumor Magnetic Resonance Imaging
Medicinal Chemistry Computer-Aided Drug Design Applied to Secondary Metabolites as Anticancer Agents
Current Topics in Medicinal Chemistry Editorial [Hot Topic: Targeted Alpha Therapy – Part II (Guest Editor: Jorgen Elgqvist)]
Current Radiopharmaceuticals Applications of Computed Tomography, Magnetic Resonance Imaging and Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy for Planning External Beam Radiotherapy
Current Medical Imaging HIV-1 Proteins, Tat and gp120, Target the Developing Dopamine System
Current HIV Research Magnetite Nanostructures with Applications in Cancer Therapy
Current Proteomics Involvement of Cannabinoids in Cellular Proliferation
Mini-Reviews in Medicinal Chemistry In Vitro Regulatory Effect of Epididymal Serpin CRES on Protease Activity of Proprotein Convertase PC4/PCSK4
Current Molecular Medicine Lectin-Carbohydrate Interactions: Implications for the Development of New Anticancer Agents
Current Medicinal Chemistry Pharmacological Modulation of Caspase Activation
Current Medicinal Chemistry - Anti-Inflammatory & Anti-Allergy Agents Monocarboxylate Transporter 1 in Brain Diseases and Cancers
Current Drug Metabolism