Begell House Inc.
Critical Reviews™ in Therapeutic Drug Carrier Systems
CRT
0743-4863
19
2
2002
Nanocapsule Technology: A Review
36
10.1615/CritRevTherDrugCarrierSyst.v19.i2.10
Patrick
Couvreur
Universite de Paris-Sud, UMR CNRS 8612, 5 rue J-B Clement, 92296 Chatenay-Malabry, France
Gillian
Barratt
Universite de Paris-Sud, UMR CNRS 8612, 5 rue J-B Clement, 92296 Chatenay-Malabry, France
Elias
Fattal
Universite de Paris-Sud, UMR CNRS 8612, 5 rue J-B Clement, 92296 Chatenay-Malabry, France
Christine
Vauthier
Universite de Paris-Sud, UMR CNRS 8612, 5 rue J-B Clement, 92296 Chatenay-Malabry, France
Nanocapsules are submicroscopic colloidal drug carrier systems composed of an oily or an aqueous core surrounded by a thin polymer membrane. Two technologies can be used to obtain such nanocapsules: the interracial polymerization of a monomer or the interfacial nanodeposition of a preformed polymer. This article is an extended review of these nanocapsule technologies and their applications for the treatment of various diseases (including cancer and infections).
Oral Delivery of Proteins: Progress and Prognostication
35
10.1615/CritRevTherDrugCarrierSyst.v19.i2.20
Rakhi B.
Shah
Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, School of Pharmacy, Texas Tech University Health Science Center, Amarillo, TX 79106
Fakhrul
Ahsan
Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, School of Pharmacy, Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center, USA
Mansoor A.
Khan
Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, School of Pharmacy, Texas Tech University Health Science Center, Amarillo, TX 79106
The delivery of proteins has gained momentum with the development of biotechnology sector that provided large-scale availability of therapeutic proteins. The availability is mostly due to the advances in recombinant DNA technology. The low oral bioavailability, however, continues to be a problem for several proteins because of their large molecular size, low permeation through biological membranes, and susceptibility to molecular changes in both biological and physical environments. The demand for effective delivery of proteins by the oral route has brought a tremendous thrust in recent years both in the scope and complexity of drug delivery technology. The important therapeutic proteins and peptides being explored for oral delivery include insulin, calcitonin, interferons, human growth hormone, glucagons, gonadotropin-releasing hormones, enkephalins, vaccines, enzymes, hormone analogs, and enzyme inhibitors. This article reviews the progress in oral delivery of these proteins, provides comments on the strategies to improve their oral bioavailability, and highlights their current market trends.
Glycosylated Cationic Liposomes for Cell-Selective Gene Delivery
20
10.1615/CritRevTherDrugCarrierSyst.v19.i2.30
Mitsuru
Hashida
Department of Drug Delivery Research, Graduate School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Kyoto University, Sakyo-ku, Kyoto 606-8501, Japan
Fumiyoshi
Yamashita
Department of Drug Delivery Research, Graduate School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Kyoto University, Sakyo-ku, Kyoto 606-8501, Japan
Koyo
Nishida
School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Nagasaki University, 1-14 Bunkyo-machi, Nagasaki 852-8131, Japan
Junzo
Nakamura
School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Nagasaki University, 1-14 Bunkyo-machi, Nagasaki 852-8131, Japan
Cationic liposomes have been considered as a potential nonviral vector for gene delivery because they possess low immunogenicity, unlike viral vectors. The gene transfer efficiency of cationic liposomes is lower than that of viral vectors, but recent advances have shown that it is possible to enhance the gene expression levels ofcationic liposomes. The main problem with cationic liposomes seems to be the lack of organ or cell selectivity because the lung has the highest level of gene expression after intravenous injection. Applying cell-specific targeting technology to liposomes would improve in vivo gene delivery and reduce any unexpected side effects. Both liver parenchymal and non-parenchymal cells exclusively express large numbers of high-affinity asialoglycoprotein and mannose receptors, respectively. Receptor-mediated gene delivery systems are able to introduce foreign DNA into specific cell types in vivo. However, we have confirmed that not only the nature of the ligands grafted to carriers but also the overall physicochemical properties of the complexes need to be optimized for effective cell-selective targeting of plasmid DNA. In this article, we attempt to evaluate a gene delivery system based on the physicochemical properties of plasmid DNA/glycosylated cationic complexes.