ABSTRACT
Nanotechnology is being currently leveraged to formulate therapeutic agents in biocompatible nanocomposites such as nanoparticles, nanocapsules, micellar systems and conjugates. This chapter reviews polymeric-based biodegradable nanoparticles and their applications in drug delivery. Drug/therapeutic agents are incorporated in the nanoparticle (NP) either by dissolving the drug in the polymerization medium or by adsorption/attachment of the drug onto the NPs after the polymerization and when NPs formation has been completed. Surface modification of the NPs plays a critical role for their successful application since the mononuclear phagocytic system, one of the body’s innate modes of defense, eliminates any injected NPs from the blood stream unless the particles are modified to escape recognition. Nanoparticles can be engineered not only for oral absorption themselves, but can be used to deliver a drug directly to the source for gastrointestinal uptake, thereby protecting the drug from low pH and enzymes in the stomach.
