Novel Drug Delivery in Nanotechnology

Advances in drug delivery strategies have been phenomenal throughout the past few decades. The discovery of new drugs has been keenly matched by developments to ensure their effective delivery. Often, drugs considered hopeless have been revived through the design of drug delivery systems. Optimizing drug dosage regimens based on understanding the disease condition, developing patient-friendly systems to address compliance and other innovative approaches is the order of the day. Nevertheless the same has been challenged arduously by the development of resistance, particularly in cancer and infectious diseases. The threat today is the development of not just multidrug resistance but total drug resistance, which could spell impending doom. Targeted drug delivery presents an optimal strategy to tackle such challenges. From ensuring high drug localization at the sites of action, and hence improved therapy, to limiting drug toxicity in other organs, targeted drug delivery presents a host of opportunities to revolutionize medicine. Such delivery relies heavily on nano drug delivery systems and presents manifold opportunities. Nevertheless, targeted drug delivery using nanosystems is fraught with numerous challenges. The objective of this book is to serve as a complete reference guide for targeted drug delivery and as a ready reference for all aspects related to the theme. The book has been structured into eight sections to address the need of beginners and established researchers. Part I is an overview of the basic principles of drug targeting and possible applications therein.