The advent of nanotechnology has reignited interest in the field of pharmaceutical science for the development of nanomedicine. Nanomedicinal formulations are nanometer-sized carrier materials designed for increasing the drug tissue bioavailability, thereby improving the treatment of systemically applied chemotherapeutic drugs. Nanomedicine encompasses the production and application of physical, chemical, and biological systems at scales, ranging from individual atoms or molecules to around 100 nanometers in diameter, as well as the integration of the resulting nanostructures into larger systems for real-time application.
Nanomedicine is a new approach to deliver the pharmaceuticals through different routes of administration with safer and more effective therapies compared to conventional methods. To date, various kinds of nanomaterials have been developed to make delivery systems more effective for the treatment of various diseases. Even though nanomaterials have significant advantages due to their unique nanoscale properties, there are still significant challenges in the improvement and development of nanoformulations with composites and other materials. The nanomedicinal formulations aim to improve the balance between the efficacy and the toxicity of therapeutic interventions through different routes of administration, with the design of nanomedicine for safer and more effective ways to improve the treatment quality.
Over the past decades, nanomedicines have been translated into various commercial products, from the lab to the market. Many pharmaceutical companies are paying more attention to nanotechnology than before, in order to find new solutions for pharmaceutical innovation with lower cost, lower risks and much higher efficiency compared to traditional drug development. Currently, nanomedicine is dominated by nanoscale drug delivery systems. Materials that have unique properties at nanoscale dimensions that meet important medical needs, are already being used as the basis for new drug delivery formulation. Nanoscale particle/molecule based drug delivery formulations improve the bioavaliability and pharmacokinetics for better therapy, such as liposomes, nanosuspensions and polymeric nanoparticles. Some of the nanoparticles (NPs) are effective in improving safety and efficacy, and also decreasing the toxicity.
Nanomedicine will become more important and much broader in clinical diagnosis, imaging and therapeutics, detection and treatment of various diseases, including the evolution of new nanoformulation materials like ocular implants and implanted transducers that can be used to restore lost vision and hearing, nanoscale polymer materials that mimic an artificial heart valve to treat cardiac problems and nanocomposites for bone scaffolds.
In order to achieve immense success in this field of nanomedicine, scientists with diverse backgrounds must unite as one to create amazing pharmaceutical formulations from different nanomaterials for clinical trials for better human health.