Nanocarrier-Based Drug Delivery Systems using Microfluidic-Assisted Techniques

Abstract

Nanocarrier-mediated drug delivery in life science and patient care is now highly recognized and has gained significant traction in pharmaceuticals for clinical applications. Besides, the incorporation of microfluidic technology for the synthesizing and delivery of nanocarriers facilitates preclinical drug testing under biomimicking physiological conditions, which further increases the prospect of nanocarrier drug delivery systems in clinical use. Indeed, an inherent amenability of microfluidics shows fine-tuned manipulation and controlled release of nanocarrier drugs in a spatiotemporal manner. The progress of microfluidic-assisted potential drug delivery platforms is reviewed and summarized with a focus on factors determining the design of novel nanodrug delivery microfluidic systems, on-chip functionalization and synthesis mechanisms of nanodrugs, and stimulation-responsive and organ-specific drug delivery platforms, including different challenges associated with developing platforms in benchtop research that hinder platforms’ clinical translation. Moreover, the commercial scenario and prospects of the microfluidic nanodrug delivery platforms are evaluated, and further predictive suggestions are provided for developing multitargeting microfluidic/organ-on-a-chip nanodrug delivery platforms and overcoming the challenges associated with commercialization. This review recognizes that although numerous reports have reinforced the promise of microfluidic nanodrug delivery platforms, much remains to be done in lab and benchtop works to realize it in clinical practice through commercialization.