Pharmaceutical Aspects of Polymeric Nanoparticles for Oral Drug Delivery

Nanotechnology as a delivery platform offers very promising applications in drug delivery, especially through and for the oral route. Either direct nanosizing or incorporation into polymeric and lipidic nanoparticles can help deliver drugs with poor aqueous solubility, low permeability, and extensive first pass metabolism, because of the special mechanisms of uptake through the gastrointestinal tract. Various tracer techniques to study the uptake, distribution and accumulation of nanoparticles have been reviewed. Methods of preparation have been discussed, with emphasis on the pharmaceutical aspects like use of stabilizers, particle size, freeze drying, equipment and drug loading, surface-modifications for targeting, mucoadhesion, degradation, drug release, stability, and storage. From simple formulations to release-controlling excipients, nanoparticles have been used for diagnosis, local and systemic drug delivery and gene therapy. From a regulatory standpoint, nanoparticles are unique systems in the strictly monitored arena of drug delivery. This review attempts to highlight the factors to be considered for the design, development, formulation, and evaluation of commercially viable nanoparticulate drug formulations for oral use.