Potential Application of Nanoparticles as Antipathogens - Advanced Materials for Agriculture, Food and Environmental Safety - page 334

12.2 Applications of Nanoparticles

Since nanoparticles are very small particles which measure not more than
three or four atoms across, they are also versatile enough, and therefore
they can be used in many types of technological applications, from delicate
electronics to revolutionary medical procedures [15-21].
Discussed below are the various biological roles of nanoparticles and
their potential applications in dif erent i elds of the biological arena.

12.2.1 Nanoparticles in Drug Delivery

h ere is increasing optimism that nanotechnology, as applied to medicine,
will bring signii cant advances in the diagnosis and treatment of disease
[22], Anticipated applications in medicine include drug delivery in both in
vitro and in vivo diagnostics, pharmaceuticals and production of improved
biocompatible materials [23].
h e primary goal of nanobiotechnolgy in drug delivery includes:

• More specii c drug targeting and delivery;
•

Reduction in toxicity while maintaining therapeutic ef ects;

• Greater safety and biocompatibility; and

• Faster development of new safe medicine [24].

Some chemicals used for drug delivery are albumin, cetylalcohol, chito-
san, gold, poly (DL-lactic-Co-glycolic acid), PLGA, etc. [25].
h e aim of nanoparticles entrapment of drugs is either enhanced deliv-
ery or uptake by target cells and/or a reduction in the toxicity of the free
drugs to the nontargeted organ [26].
Nanoparticles have specii c particles as tools to enable local drug deliv-
ery or drug targeting. h ese include benei ts such as their small size, which
allows penetration of cell membrane, binding and stabilization of protein
and lysosomal escape at er endocytosis [27-28].
So far, nanotechnology-based therapeutic products have been approved
for clinical use, with total sales exceeding $5.4 billion [29]. Among these
products, liposomal drugs and polymer-drug conjugate are two dominant
classes, accounting for more than 80% of the total amount [27-28]. In
1995, Doxil was the i rst liposomal drug formulation approved by the US
Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for the treatment of AIDS associ-
ated with Kaposi's sarcoma.
Another extensively used nanoparticle drug delivery platform currently
in clinical practice is polymer-drug conjugates [30]. h e conjugation of