Title:Nanocrystals- A Substantial Platform for Drug Delivery Applications
Volume: 11
Issue: 4
Author(s): Akanksha Patel*Abhay Dharamsi
Affiliation:
- Department of Pharmaceutics, Faculty of Pharmacy, Parul University, Vadodara, India
Keywords:
Nanocrystals, nanosuspension, solubility Enhancement, drug delivery, bioavailability, colloidal dispersion.
Abstract: Poor solubility of a drug is one of the major concerns in drug delivery. Many strategies
have been employed for solving this problem, but there are still some deficiencies with current
strategies, such as low drug loading, high toxicity, poor stability, potential drug loss during storage,
and complex manufacturing method. By formulating nanocrystals, problems associated with the delivery
of drugs with low water or lipid solubility can be addressed. Unlike polymeric nanoparticles
and lipidic nanoparticles, they are not reservoir or matrix systems. Nanocrystals are colloidal suspensions
of nanosized particles stabilized by polymeric or electrostatic stabilization. They can be
prepared by Top-down or Bottom-up approaches. Some of the methods for the preparation of
nanocrystals are nanoprecipitation, media milling, high-pressure homogenization, emulsions and
microemulsions as templates, supercritical fluid technology, and co-grinding. They can be used for
oral, intravenous, ocular, inhalation, intramuscular drug delivery and drug targeting.