ABSTRACT
In pharmaceutics, 90% of all medicines, the active ingredient is in the form of solid particles. With the development in nanotechnology, it is now possible to produce drug nanoparticles that can be utilized in a variety of innovative ways. New drug delivery pathways can now be used that can increase drug efficacy and reduce side effects. For example, in 2005, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved intravenously administered 130-nm albumin nanoparticles loaded with paclitaxel (AbraxaneTM) for cancer therapy, which epitomizes the new products anticipated based on nanoparticulate systems. The new albumin/paclitaxel-nanoparticle formulation offers several advantages including elimination of
PART I: TECHNOLOGIES FOR NANOPARTICLE MANUFACTURING
toxicity because of cremophor, a solvent used in the previous formulation, and improved efficacy due to the greater dose of the drug that can be administered and delivered. For better development of the nanoparticulate systems, it is essential to understand the pharmaceutically relevant properties of nanoparticles, which is the purpose of this chapter and this book in general. In the following narrative, some fundamental properties of nanoparticles including their size, surface area, settling velocity, magnetic and optical properties, and biological transport are brought into the perspective of drug delivery.
