Gastroretentive Nanoparticulate Drug Delivery Systems

Under the light of current literature (i.e. articles, books, patents and information posted on the nanotech company websites) and the product pipelines of leading pharma/biotech companies, it is evident that we would be seeing many nanotechnology-based pharmaceutical products in this century. It is likely that the oral formulations would dominate this specialized segment of novel dosage forms. The chemical/polymer industry has been feeding the drug delivery scientists with a variety of biopolymers, having wide range of specialized properties. Nanoparticles made from the biopolymers are likely to dominate the novel drug delivery systems in the oral market because of the cost-to-benefit ratio, excellent stability, flexibility for industrial production and a voluminous database available, with respect to the regulatory issues addressed earlier. Polymeric nanoparticles are also being explored for topical applications and as sterile dosage forms for ophthalmic, nasal, subcutaneous and intravenous applications.