Soft Nanoscience Letters
Vol.4 No.3(2014), Article ID:47800,2 pages DOI:10.4236/snl.2014.43007

Nanomaterials for Drugs Delivery

Francisco Márquez1, Carmen Morant2

1Nanomaterials Research Group, School of Science and Technology, University of Turabo, Gurabo, USA

2Department of Applied Physics, Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, Madrid, Spain

Email: fmarquez@suagm.edu

Received 1 May 2014; revised 1 June 2014; accepted 1 July 2014

As expected for years, nanotechnology has revolutionized engineering, biology, chemistry, physics and medi-cine of today. These disciplines are evolving thanks to the ongoing development of new materials and applica-tions. Nanomedicine, as application of nanotechnology in the field of health care, has undergone unprecedented development. Some of these changes have real applications as, for example, the use of nanoparticles in MRI imaging, in hyperthermia, in immunotherapy, or to improve the bioavailability of drugs, among others [1]-[3]. When a drug is administered to a patient, the blood distributes it throughout the body. In the case of very lo-calized diseases (i.e. tumors), only a small fraction of the drug reaches the target. Chemotherapy is one of the most aggressive treatment options used in some types of cancer, and is usually administered intravenously. In this type of therapy, the drug circulates throughout the body, reaching and destroying healthy and cancerous tissues, producing side effects throughout the body, sometimes with serious consequences for the health of the patient (nephrotoxicity, cardiotoxicity, peripheral neuropathy, anemia, etc.). Among the many applications of nanotechnology, the fabrication of nanostructures capable of safely transporting these drugs is seen as a strategy for reducing these side effects. Nanoparticles are able to carry and release the drug in the right place and with the required dose, greatly reducing the problems associated with direct treatment with these drugs. In recent years, there have been continuous improvements in the design and development of new tailor-made drug delivery systems [4], including hollow magnetic nanoparticles, liposomal structures, dendrimers, nanopor-ous silicon, etc. These structures can be obtained with different molecular weights (in the case of polymers), structures, shapes, and even with the appropriate functional groups for interaction at the desired positions. However, a great effort is still required to solve many of the current problems [5], including toxicity, aggregation, solubility and stability in the human body, physiological processes of elimination, identification of targets by highly specific receptors, controlled drug release over time, etc.

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