Title:Authors Review on Drug Nanocrystals: A Progress to Targeted Delivery
VOLUME: 10 ISSUE: 3
Author(s):Manish Kumar*, Nithya Shanthi, P.S. Rajnikanth and Arun Kumar Mahato
Affiliation:Department of Pharmaceutical Engineering and Technology, Indian Institute of Technology (BHU), Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh (India), Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Sardar Bhagwan Singh Post Graduate Institute of Biomedical Science and Research, Balawala, Dehradun, Uttarakhand, Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Babasaheb Bhimrao Ambedkar University (A Central University), Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh, Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Sardar Bhagwan Singh Post Graduate Institute of Biomedical Science and Research, Balawala, Dehradun, Uttarakhand
Keywords:Modified nanocrystals, targeted delivery, surface grafting, 3rd generation nanocrystals, king
design, scale-up potential.
Abstract:In the last few decades, researchers and pharmaceutical industries have been
developing new approaches to overcome the solubility and bioavailability limits observed
with poorly soluble drugs. With the advancement of nanotechnology, nanocrystals have
emerged as a great potential to overcome these limitations. Nanocrystals owing to its ability
to modify the physicochemical and biological properties of the drug have gained widespread
attention among the research scientists. This review provides comprehensive detail
on the associated advantages, challenges, factors affecting physicochemical properties,
and optimization parameters about the stability of nanocrystals. In this review, the evolution
of nanocrystals is discussed as first-generation simple nanocrystals, secondgeneration
nanocrystals within a carrier, and third-generation surface-modified nanocrystals.
It also provides a detailed account of various preparation methods and evaluation of
surface-modified nanocrystals. In the proposed "King Design," nanocrystals of the third
generation are placed on the top due to their advantage over other nanocarriers like high
drug payload, site-specific delivery, improved activity, commercial manufacturing, and
easy scale-up. Third generations nanocrystals can provide a novel therapeutic solution for
the site-specific, targeted, and efficient delivery for treatment of various acute as well as
chronic diseases with high stability and scale-up potential.
