ABSTRACT
This chapter discusses significant advances in drug-delivery systems (DDSs) in which nanoengineering is the enabling technology for objectives, with an emphasis on the application of nanoengineering principles to the design of controlled- and triggered-release DDSs, enhancement of drug activity and stability, and smart tissue-targeted therapies. The engineering of drug carriers to bear one or more polymeric agents, with each block having a specific role in the solubility and degradative susceptibility of the resulting vehicle, allows for nanoscale design of controlled-release DDSs. Controlled-release DDSs have also been formulated using the unique properties conferred by lipid-based materials. Using a judicious selection of components with appropriate physicochemical characteristics, lipid-based DDSs can also be formulated for instant trigger-based release applications. The bioconjugation of ligands, such as monoclonal antibodies, proteins, or peptides to the nanocarrier surface, has been exploited on many nanoparticulate DDSs for the purpose of concentrating therapeutic action to specific sites.
