MAGNETIC MICROSPHERES: A NOVEL DRUG DELIVERY SYSTEM

Abstract

A well designed controlled drug delivery system can provide a therapeutic amount of drug to the proper site in the body and then maintain the desired drug concentration for the specific period of time. A number of approaches are available in delivering therapeutic substance to the target site in sustained and controlled release fashion. One such approach is using magnetic microspheres as carriers for drugs. Microsphere drug delivery system has gained vast attention due to its diverse applications that range from targeting the drug to specific site to imaging and helping the diagnostic features. One of its important application is that it is used for targeting tumors using anticancer drugs. Being more stable, it has an advantage over other delivery systems like liposomes. The main objectives of this review is to highlight some important aspects of magnetic microspheres as a novel drug delivery system. The review shall cover definitions, concepts, types, mechanism of targeting, evaluation and characteristics of magnetic microspheres as well as various methods and techniques used in their preparations. The review also entails various applications and future prospects of magnetic microspheres.