Drug Delivery and

Nanotechnology
Bryce Linkous
Alex Lebedev
Christos Zinis
James Foster

Evolution of Nanotechnology
Small-scale science;
engineering at the
molecular level
Small microscopic
changes confer big
changes
macroscopically
Computer simulation of
electron motions through a
nanowire

Application of Nanotechnology in Drug Delivery

Biochemistry operates at the nanoscale
The ability to manipulate and control the movement of drugs throughout the
body offers

Disease-specific treatment: isolating drug administration allows for precise treatment with less
side-effects

Accessibility: allows people outside of metropolitan areas and in isolated locations to have
access to drugs and vaccines

Higher treatment success: drugs often fail because of their inability to reach the problem or
their short lifespan in the body; nanotechnology provides a reliable drug delivery platform

Treating Infectious Disease

Many bacteria have found ways to produce a silent infection inside cells

Nanotechnology offers a viable solution to this problem

Localized diseases such as infection and inflammation overexpress some epitopes or

receptors that can be used as targets

Thus, nanomedicines can be actively targeted to these locations

The major goals in designing nanoparticles as delivery systems are:

Control particle size

Control surface properties and release active agents to achieve optimum rate and
dose regimen

Bacterial Resistance
Bacteria gains antibiotic resistance due to three reasons:
-

modification of active site of the target resulting in reduction in the efficiency of binding of the drug

destruction or modification of the antibiotic by enzymes produced by the organism

efflux of antibiotic from the cell

Nanoparticles can target antimicrobial agents at the site of infection, so that higher doses of drug can be given at the
infected site, thereby overcoming existing resistance mechanisms with fewer harmful effects upon the patient

passively targeted nanoparticles undergo extravasation at sites of infection, where inflammation has led to enhanced
blood vessel porousness

actively targeted nanoparticles contain ligands that bind receptors at sites of infection

Advantages & Disadvantages of Nanoantibiotics

Advantages
-

nanocarriers may overcome solubility or stability issues of the drug and minimize drug-induced side effects

its be possible to achieve co-delivery of two or more drugs or therapeutic modality for combination therapy

overcoming resistance to common antibiotics developed by many pathogenic bacteria

Disadvantages

the toxic effects of antimicrobial NPs on the central nervous system are still unknown, and the interactions of NPs with
the cells and tissues of the CNS are poorly understood

the size-specific properties of NPs limit their usage past lab experiments

NPs usually have short half-life due to natural defense mechanism of human body for eliminating them

Drug Delivery to the Central Nervous System

Blood-brain barrier

Complex interface between the central nervous system

(CNS) and blood

Difficult to target; impervious to many traditional drugs

Provides CNS with greater protection from infection,

disease, etc.

New therapies

Ultrasound: allow brief disruption of blood-brain barrier to

directly target tumors

Chemical treatments

Central Nervous System, cont.

a.

Diffusion rates differ in

regions of the brain

b.

Using drugs to manipulate

transport proteins

c.

Directly block disease

factors into the brain

d.

Induce secretions to
endothelial blood cells

e.

Allow immune cells to move

through the barrier

f.

Prevent free radicals within

the brain

Central Nervous System, cont.

Significance of drug delivery in the CNS:
Benefits

Risks

Specialized treatment options for tumor/cancer patients

Surgery may often be avoided
New treatments for neurodegenerative diseases such as
Alzheimers and Parkinsons
Preventing the degradation of neural tissue can prolong
the onset of these diseases
Difficult to test/bring to clinical trials
High risk treatments with currently little scientific
investigation
Expensive
Making disease-specific molecules requires labor and
funding too extensive by current health standards

Literature Review
From From bloodbrain barrier to bloodbrain interface: new opportunities for CNS drug delivery William A. Banks

Feasibility of drug delivery to the CNS:

Provides detailed research, citations, and visual materials

Clearly explains methodology

However, the article lacks:

Experimental credibility: only theoretical support
Suggestions on how to begin research

Nanotechnology in Drug Delivery: Cancer

Specific particles attach to the targeted cells for
direct treatment
Ethylene glycol molecules and its derivatives
are attached to nanoparticles for drug
delivery
Nanoparticles are coated with polymerase so they
can safely travel through the blood stream
White blood cells do not realize the nanoparticles are
foreign to the body
Molecules travel through the bloodstream long
enough to attach the the cancerous cells/tumors
Nanoparticle injects contents into cancerous
cell

Why Use Nanotechnology in treatment of Cancer?

Allows for earlier and more accurate initial diagnosis
Optimizes prevention of damage to healthy cells
Due to selectivity towards cancerous cells
Nanotechnology is not invasive like surgery
It does not involve chemotherapy or radiation treatments
Pain free method of eradicating cancer

Literature Review
From Cancer and Nanotechnology- Maria Guirguis

Disadvantages of nanotechnology in cancer treatment:

Difficult to manufacture and is thus extremely expensive
Inhalable nano-based chemotherapeutic drugs may cause side effects
Not enough research has been done to make a conclusion

The article lacked:

Statistically significant studies
Low respondent levels to verify results

Transdermal Drug Delivery

The absorption of medication through
the outer layer of skin (stratum
corneum) into the bloodstream.

Useful for...
Controlled medication delivery rates.
Local application of medicines.
Smaller doses of medicine.

Transdermal Drug Delivery

First Generation Transdermal Delivery Systems:

Normally low dose and lipophilic.

Used for a constant delivery of the medication.
Common delivery systems for first generation transdermal drug delivery include skin patches and
topical formulas.

Second Generation Transdermal Delivery Systems:

Either increases skin permeability or adds a driving force to the drug delivery system without
damaging deep tissue.
Common delivery systems include chemical enhancers and noncavitational ultrasound.
Both involve the disruption of the lipid structure on the outermost layer of skin, increasing
permeability.

Transdermal Drug Delivery

Third Generation Transdermal Delivery Systems:
Electroporation
Uses short high voltage pulses to disrupt cell membranes for multiple applications.

Microneedles
Pierces the outermost layer of skin increasing permeability.

Thermal Ablation
Selectively heats the skin surface generating micro perforations.

Literature Review
From Transdermal drug delivery - Mark R Prausnitz and Robert Langer
What are the benefits of transdermal drug delivery?
Eliminates the first pass effect (when oral medication is lost in the absorption process)
Good alternative to painful injections
Reduces the risk of infection
Non invasive and self administered

What are some of the disadvantages?

Mostly effective with small doses of medicine
Only a limited number of drugs are able to use this process

Conclusion - The Future of Drug Delivery

Nanotechnology is a new science, with new research conducted daily
Currently expensive
But with new technological developments and discoveries, processes become more efficient and
less expensive

Broad applications in medicine

Will potentially be able to cure numerous diseases in a pain-free method
Could have no impact on the environment

References
Banks, W. A. (2016) From blood-brain barrier to blood-brain interface: new opportunities for CNS drug delivery. Nature
Reviews Drug Discovery 15, 275292.
Guirguis, M. (2013, March 14) Cancer and Nanotechnology, 12-13.
(2015) Understanding Nano. Nanotechnology in Drug Delivery. Hawk's Perch Technical Writing.
Prausnitz, M. R., and Langer, R. (2008, November 7) Transdermal drug delivery. Nature Biotechnology.