Smart External Stimulus Responsive Nanocarriers For Drug And Gene Delivery

The concept of smart drug delivery vehicles involves designing and preparing a nanostructure (or microstructure) that can be loaded with a cargo, this can be a therapeutic drug, a contrast agent for imaging, or a nucleic acid for gene therapy. The nanocarrier serves to protect the cargo from degradation by enzymes in the body, to enhance the solubility of insoluble drugs, to extend the circulation half-life, and to enhance its penetration and accumulation at the target site. Importantly, smart nanocarriers can be designed to be responsive to a specific stimulus, so that the cargo is only released or activated when desired. In this volume we cover smart nanocarriers that respond to externally applied stimuli that usually involve application of physical energy. This physical energy can be applied from outside the body and can either cause cargo release, or can activate the nanostructure to be cytotoxic, or both. The stimuli covered include light of various wavelengths (ultraviolet, visible or infrared), temperature (increased or decreased), magnetic fields (used to externally manipulate nanostructures and to activate them), ultrasound, and electrical and mechanical forces. Finally we discuss the issue of nanotoxicology and the future scope of the field.

The concept of smart drug delivery vehicles involves designing and preparing a nanostructure (or microstructure) that can be loaded with a cargo. This can be a therapeutic drug, a contrast agent for imaging, or a nucleic acid for gene therapy. The nanocarrier serves to protect the cargo from degradation by enzymes in the body, to enhance the solubility of insoluble drugs, to extend the circulation half-life, and to enhance its penetration and accumulation at the target site. Importantly, smart nanocarriers can be designed to be responsive to a specific stimulus, so that the cargo is only released or activated when desired. In this volume we cover smart nanocarriers that respond to internal stimuli that are intrinsic to the target site. These stimuli are specific to the cell type, tissue or organ type, or to the disease state (cancer, infection, inflammation etc). pH-responsive nanostructures can be used for cargo release in acidic endosomal compartments, in the lower pH of tumors, and for specific oral delivery either to the stomach or intestine. Nanocarriers can be designed to be substrates of a wide-range of enzymes that are over-expressed at disease sites. Oxidation and reduction reactions can be taken advantage of in smart nanocarriers by judicious molecular design. Likewise, nanocarriers can be designed to respond to a range of specific biomolecules that may occur at the target site. In this volume we also cover dual and multi-responsive systems that combine stimuli that could be either internal or external.

Drug delivery systems and pharmaceutical nanocarriers that respond to different types of stimuli, such as internal ones, intrinsic for the pathological area (changes in pH, temperature, redox condition, activity of certain enzymes), or external, artificially applied (magnetic field, ultrasound, various irradiations), represent an important and continuously growing area of research. Smart Phramaceutical Nanocarriers overviews the various stimuli used for drug release and delivery by smart pharmaceutical carriers and presents cutting-edge research and the newest data from the leading laboratories in each area.

Stimuli-Responsive Nanocarriers: Recent Advances in Tailor-Made Therapeutics compiles dispersed knowledge into a complete and comprehensive source to help researchers understand and progress stimuli-responsive nanocarriers. The book contains recent advancements made in the field of stimuli-responsive nanocarriers with their application in controlled drug delivery against various diseases. It focuses on the design, mechanism, construction, therapeutic application and future challenges of stimuli-responsive nanocarriers which will help new researchers in designing next generation tailor-made advanced therapeutics. Finally, the book covers future aspects and challenges present in the route of development of stimuli responsive nanocarriers for disease therapeutics. Various recent advances and biomedical applications assembled in this book will guide scientists on how to design and develop novel controlled drug release systems. Provides comprehensive knowledge of basic design, mechanism and construction of nanocarrier based stimuli-responsive drug releases Explores various nanocarriers characteristically used in the development of stimuli-responsive drug release systems Envisages future opportunities, challenges and implementation of nanocarrier based stimuli-responsive drug release systems in disease therapeutics

The increased understanding of molecular aspects associated with chronic diseases, such as cancer and the role of tumor microenvironment, has led to the identification of endogenous and exogenous stimuli that can be exploited to devise "stimuli-responsive" materials for site-specific drug delivery applications. This book provides a comprehensive account on the design, materials chemistry, and application aspects behind these novel stimuli-responsive materials. Setting the scene, the editors open with a chapter addressing the need for smart materials in delivery applications for therapy, imaging and disease diagnosis. The following chapter describes the key physical and chemical aspects of smart materials, from lipids to polymers to hybrid materials, providing the reader with a springboard to delve into the more application oriented chapters that follow. With in-depth coverage of key drug delivery systems such as pH-responsive, temperature responsive, enzyme-responsive and light responsive systems, this book provides a rigorous foundation to the field. A perfect resource for graduate students and newcomers, the closing chapter on regulatory and commercialization challenges also makes the book ideal for those wanting to take the next step towards clinical translation. responsive systems, this book provides a rigorous foundation to the field. A perfect resource for graduate students and newcomers, the closing chapter on regulatory and commercialization challenges also makes the book ideal for those wanting to take the next step towards clinical translation.responsive systems, this book provides a rigorous foundation to the field. A perfect resource for graduate students and newcomers, the closing chapter on regulatory and commercialization challenges also makes the book ideal for those wanting to take the next step towards clinical translation.responsive systems, this book provides a rigorous foundation to the field. A perfect resource for graduate students and newcomers, the closing chapter on regulatory and commercialization challenges also makes the book ideal for those wanting to take the next step towards clinical translation.

Smart materials, which can change properties when an external stimulus is applied, can be used for the targeted drug delivery of an active molecule to a specific site in the correct dosage. Different materials such as liposomes, polymeric systems, nanomaterials and hydrogels can respond to different stimuli such as pH, temperature and light and these are all attractive for controlled release applications. With so many papers available on smart and stimuli-responsive materials for drug delivery applications it's hard to know where to start reading about this exciting topic. This two volume set brings together the recent findings in the area and provides a critical analysis of the different materials available and how they can be applied to advanced drug delivery systems. With contributions from leading experts in the field, including a foreword from distinguished scientist Nicholas Peppas, The University of Texas at Austin, USA, the book will provide both an introduction to the key areas for graduate students and new researchers in the stimuli-responsive field as well as serving as a reference for those already working on fundamental materials research or drug delivery applications.