Nanomaterials Used for Delivery of Bioactives

Abstract

Progression in genetic engineering has led to proliferation of a wide variety of proteins, peptides, genes, and other macromolecules. Despite their efficacy and selectivity in physiological functions, administration of most of the bioactives is a hard task to achieve. To overcome these limitations, enormous efforts are being made to formulate these bioactives into patient-friendly system using the approaches of novel drug delivery systems mainly based on liposomes, nanocapsules, nanoemulsions, niosomes, hydrogels, nanoparticles, and bioadhesive particles. Among these nano size carriers attract huge intention because at this size surface area enhances exponentially which surprisingly changes the many aspects compared to conventional particles. The key objectives in developing nanocarriers are to manage particle diameter, surface characteristics, as well as effective delivery without degradation to fulfill the specific objectives. Hence, characterizations of these nanocarriers are very critical to control their desired behavior in vitro as well as in vivo. Later on, these carriers were conjugated by specific ligand in order to deliver protein therapeutics into the target organs in active form. Infact, one of the major issues of the nanocarrier-mediated delivery is that the stability issues of bioactives inside the matrix insist selection of appropriate carriers for efficient delivery. Also, this chapter describes challenges and restrictions for the delivery of bioactives, and selection of nanocarriers such as nanoparticles and liposomes to achieve the desired response specifically at the site of action and other carriers can enhance the pharmacokinetic behavior of bioactives, therefore minimizing toxic effects and make the most of the therapeutic benefits.