Cellular Drug Delivery

An authoritative and up-to-date survey of the fundamental principles, and practice of drug delivery at the cellular level. On the principles side, the authors discuss the broad spectrum of cellular delivery, ranging from coverage of cell-mediated immunity, gene delivery, and protein targeting, to cellular drug transport, cellular drug permeability, and a variety of carrier system related to targeted drug delivery. On the practice side, the authors focus on technological developments in cellular drug delivery, including novel formulations for the delivery of DNA and antisense oligonucleotides ,as well as drug targeting with immunoglobulin formulations and antibody-mediated approaches.

This book features a special subsection of Nanomedicine, an application of nanotechnology to achieve breakthroughs in healthcare. It exploits the improved and often novel physical, chemical and biological properties of materials only existent at the nanometer scale. As a consequence of small scale, nanosystems in most cases are efficiently uptaken by cells and appear to act at the intracellular level. Nanotechnology has the potential to improve diagnosis, treatment and follow-up of diseases, and includes targeted drug delivery and regenerative medicine; it creates new tools and methods that impact significantly upon existing conservative practices. This volume is a collection of authoritative reviews. In the introductory section we define the field (intracellular delivery). Then, the fundamental routes of nanodelivery devices, cellular uptake, types of delivery devices, particularly in terms of localized cellular delivery, both for small drug molecules, macromolecular drugs and genes; at the academic and applied levels, are covered. The following section is dedicated to enhancing delivery via special targeting motifs followed by the introduction of different types of intracellular nanodelivery devices (e.g. a brief description of their chemistry) and ways of producing these different devices. Finally, we put special emphasis on particular disease states and on other biomedical applications, whilst diagnostic and sensing issues are also included. Intracellular delivery / therapy is a highly topical which will stir great interest. Intracellular delivery enables much more efficient drug delivery since the impact (on different organelles and sites) is intracellular as the drug is not supplied externally within the blood stream. There is great potential for targeted delivery with improved localized delivery and efficacy.

This contribution book collects reviews and original articles from eminent experts working in the interdisciplinary arena of novel drug delivery systems and their uses. From their direct and recent experience, the readers can achieve a wide vision on the new and ongoing potentialities of different smart drug delivery systems. Since the advent of analytical techniques and capabilities to measure particle sizes in nanometer ranges, there has been tremendous interest in the use of nanoparticles for more efficient methods of drug delivery. On the other hand, this reference discusses advances in the design, optimization, and adaptation of gene delivery systems for the treatment of cancer, cardiovascular, diabetic, genetic, and infectious diseases, and considers assessment and review procedures involved in the development of gene-based pharmaceuticals.

This thorough book explores some of the most important methods and concepts affecting the quantitative analysis of the transport, targeting, and disposition of chemicals within cells, which in turn impact the macroscopic pharmacokinetics of chemical agents in the whole organism. The first half of the volume focuses on small organic molecules with drug-like characteristics, while the second half delves into the cellular pharmacokinetics of biologics and other macromolecules, including peptide therapeutics, cyclotides, antibodies, as well as nanoparticles, thus creating a comprehensive treatise that approaches cellular pharmacokinetics from the different perspectives of pharmaceutical scientists, chemical biologists, medicinal chemists, and protein engineers dealing with very different chemical agents spanning a wide range of sizes, physicochemical properties, and targeting mechanisms. Written for the Methods in Pharmacology and Toxicology series, chapters provide the kind of key detail and expert implementation advice that leads to excellent results in the lab. Synthetic biologists, biophysicists, and bioengineers are amongst the long list of scientists who could benefit from reading this book or from using it as a textbook. Authoritative and practical, Quantitative Analysis of Cellular Drug Transport, Disposition, and Delivery builds on a long history of drug development and the adding of quantitative methods at the cellular scale in order to inspire new approaches to drug development that are better able to take advantage of phenomena such as soluble-to-insoluble phase transitions or bispecific targeting, which could ultimately be exploited for the development of more effective drug delivery systems and therapeutic agents.

This book proposes the importance of new systems of drug design and delivery based on cancer pathophysiology in addition to cancer molecular and cellular biology. The current studies based on molecular and cellular biology while ignoring pathophysiology and pharmacology may be leading the development of antitumor drugs in the wrong direction and wasting a lot of money. Although there have been numerous reports of genetic and phenotypic changes in tumors, a large body of pathological and clinical evidence supports the conclusion that there are no pivotal changes in tumor cells that distinguish them consistently and reliably from normal dividing cells. Unlike using antibiotics against bacterial infection, therefore, anticancer agents (ACAs) need to be delivered selectively to tumor tissues and should be kept there long enough to reproduce the concentrations they reach in the Petri dish, which is a closed space where the cytocidal effects of any anticancer agents (ACAs) including molecular targeting agents are very strong. In the body, however, administered ACAs are cleared with the passage of time. Furthermore, most human cancers possess abundant stroma that hinders the penetration of drugs into the tumor microenvironment. Therefore, to overcome these difficulties, novel drug delivery systems have been designed, such as nanoparticles and ACA conjugated antibodies to stromal components and to cancer cell surface antigens. These advances are described in this book after the first section, which describes core features of the pathophysiology of the cancer microenvironment, on which these new developments are based.

A comprehensive guide to the current research, major challenges, and future prospects of controlled drug delivery systems Controlled drug delivery has the potential to significantly improve therapeutic outcomes, increase clinical benefits, and enhance the safety of drugs in a wide range of diseases and health conditions. Fundamentals of Drug Delivery provides comprehensive and up-to-date coverage of the essential principles and processes of modern controlled drug delivery systems. Featuring contributions by respected researchers, clinicians, and pharmaceutical industry professionals, this edited volume reviews the latest research in the field and addresses the many issues central to the development of effective, controlled drug delivery. Divided in three parts, the book begins by introducing the concept of drug delivery and discussing both challenges and opportunities within the rapidly evolving field. The second section presents an in-depth critique of the common administration routes for controlled drug delivery, including delivery through skin, the lungs, and via ocular, nasal, and otic routes. The concluding section summarizes the current state of the field and examines specific issues in drug delivery and advanced delivery technologies, such as the use of nanotechnology in dermal drug delivery and advanced drug delivery systems for biologics. This authoritative resource: Covers each main stage of the drug development process, including selecting pharmaceutical candidates and evaluating their physicochemical characteristics Describes the role and application of mathematical modelling and the influence of drug transporters in pharmacokinetics and drug disposition Details the physiology and barriers to drug delivery for each administration route Presents a historical perspective and a look into the possible future of advanced drug delivery systems Explores nanotechnology and cell-mediated drug delivery, including applications for targeted delivery and toxicological and safety issues Includes comprehensive references and links to the primary literature Edited by a team of of internationally-recognized experts, Fundamentals of Drug Delivery is essential reading for researchers, industrial scientists, and advanced students in all areas of drug delivery including pharmaceutics, pharmaceutical sciences, biomedical engineering, polymer and materials science, and chemical and biochemical engineering.

Recent advances in cell and molecular biology are providing exciting opportunities for the rational design of novel highly specific and effective therapeutic agents. These opportunities will often only be turned into clinical success through strategies which ensure the delivery of such agents to the desired site of action. This is achieved via processes which prevent loss of drug activity, avoid toxicity and provide cost- effective and convenient therapy. This book addresses some of the biological opportunities and scientific challenges for the site-specific delivery of drugs, and indicates the formidable obstacles which face the pharmaceutical industry and academia alike.