Drug Delivery News and Research

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Drug delivery is a term that refers to the delivery of a pharmaceutical compound into the body. Most common methods of delivery include the preferred non-invasive oral (through the mouth), nasal, pneumonial (inhalation), and rectal routes. Much research is now focussing on nanotechnology as a drug delivery method.

Biomimetic amplification of nanoparticle homing to tumors

A collaborative, multidisciplinary team of researchers has created nanoparticles that act much like a developing clot to target tumors.

16 Jan 2007

Allergic reactions to insulin have declined and Continuous Subcutaneous Insulin Infusion could reduce them further

A review of published research from the University of Liege, Belgium, reveals a decline in the number of people experiencing allergic reactions to insulin. This is largely due to better purification of animal insulin and the introduction of human recombinant insulin.

8 Jan 2007

Interleukin-13 receptor-targeted nanovesicles are a potential therapy for glioblastoma multiforme

Glioblastoma multiforme is among the most aggressive and difficult cancers to treat. Now, researchers at Penn State University have shown that a lipid-based nanoparticle, designed to bind to a specific receptor found on malignant brain cells but not healthy ones, improves the potency of a common anticancer drug and slows significantly the growth of glioblastoma in mice.

8 Jan 2007

Dendrimer-encapsulated camptothecins

With an eye toward developing a delivery vehicle for anticancer agents that are poorly soluble in water, a research team at Boston University and the Research Triangle Institute (RTI) has developed a biocompatible dendrimer that wraps itself around water-insoluble drugs.

8 Jan 2007

In vivo biodistribution and highly efficient tumour targeting of carbon nanotubes in mice

In the first experiment of its kind, investigators at the Center for Cancer Nanotechnology Excellence Focused on Therapy Response (CCNE-TR), based at Stanford University, have shown that single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWCNTs) wrapped in poly(ethylene glycol), or PEG, can successfully target tumors in living animals.

8 Jan 2007

Cytogen issued new patent covering oral drug delivery agents

Cytogen Corporation has announced that it has been issued United States patent number 7,135,457 covering its oral drug delivery agents - random peptide compositions that bind to gastro-intestinal tract (GIT) transport receptors.

28 Nov 2006

A single dose of doxorubicin-functionalized bow-tie dendrimer cures mice bearing C-26 colon carcinomas

In a dramatic demonstration of the power of nanotechnology, a team of investigators has designed a nanoscale, polymeric drug delivery vehicle that when loaded with a widely used anticancer agent cures colon cancer in mice with a single dose.

13 Nov 2006

Multifunctional polymeric micelles as cancer-targeted, MRI-ultrasensitive drug delivery systems

In an attempt to create a single device that can image and treat tumors simultaneously, researchers at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center at Dallas have successfully melded magnetic iron nanoparticles, the anticancer drug doxorubicin, and a polymer tagged with a tumor-targeted molecule into a stable nanoparticle that accumulates inside human tumor cells.

6 Nov 2006

Formulation of functionalized PLGA-PEG nanoparticles for in vivo targeted drug delivery

Though researchers have made substantial progress in developing drug-ferrying nanoparticles that successfully target tumor cells in living animals, including humans, investigators have only now started the detailed work needed to identify formulation parameters that would optimize drug delivery to malignant cells.

6 Nov 2006

Multifunctional composite nanoparticles: magnetic, luminescent, and mesoporous

Silica, the mineral of which sand is made, is generally inert in the body and can be modified easily using a variety of well-established chemical reactions.

30 Oct 2006

Multivalent effects of RGD peptides obtained by nanoparticle display

While a growing body of literature has shown that nanoparticle targeting can improve drug delivery and tumor imaging, there have been few systematic studies examining the net positive effect of nanoparticle targeting.

23 Oct 2006

Membrane targeted chemotherapy with hybrid liposomes for colon tumor cells leading to apoptosis

One of the unusual properties of tumor cells is that their cell membranes are more fluid and less rigid than those of normal cells.

16 Oct 2006

Key parameters for encapsulating drugs in nanoparticles

One of the early, successful uses of nanoparticles has been to develop delivery vehicles capable of ferrying large amounts of water-insoluble drugs to tumors.

2 Oct 2006

Temperature-sensitive nanoparticle boosts drug antitumor activity

Using temperature-sensitive, lipid- and polymer-based nanoparticles with a polymer coating, researchers in Korea have created an anticancer drug delivery vehicle that may provide a significant boost to the therapeutic efficacy of anticancer agents, particularly when used in conjunction with hyperthermia.

2 Oct 2006

Smart nanoscale bioreactors for drug delivery

In a powerful demonstration of how to build a multifunctional, smart nanoscale drug delivery system, researchers at the University of Basel have created a drug-loaded nanocontainer that targets specific cells and releases its payload when receiving a specific physiological signal.

2 Oct 2006

In vitro assessment of transferrin-conjugated liposomes as drug delivery systems for inhalation therapy of lung cancer

Investigators developing an inhalable nanoparticle for treating lung cancer have shown that a surface molecule found on malignant lung cells can serve as an effective target for improving drug delivery.

25 Sep 2006

Computer model reveals a central "road" in the human stomach

A computer model or "virtual stomach" revealed a central "road" in the human stomach, dubbed the Magenstrasse, that could explain why pharmaceuticals sometimes have a large variability in drug activation times, according to a team creating computer simulations of stomach contractions.

20 Sep 2006

Drug Delivery News and Research

Further Reading

Biomimetic amplification of nanoparticle homing to tumors

Allergic reactions to insulin have declined and Continuous Subcutaneous Insulin Infusion could reduce them further

Interleukin-13 receptor-targeted nanovesicles are a potential therapy for glioblastoma multiforme

Dendrimer-encapsulated camptothecins

In vivo biodistribution and highly efficient tumour targeting of carbon nanotubes in mice

Cytogen issued new patent covering oral drug delivery agents

A single dose of doxorubicin-functionalized bow-tie dendrimer cures mice bearing C-26 colon carcinomas

Multifunctional polymeric micelles as cancer-targeted, MRI-ultrasensitive drug delivery systems

Formulation of functionalized PLGA-PEG nanoparticles for in vivo targeted drug delivery

Multifunctional composite nanoparticles: magnetic, luminescent, and mesoporous

Multivalent effects of RGD peptides obtained by nanoparticle display

Membrane targeted chemotherapy with hybrid liposomes for colon tumor cells leading to apoptosis

Key parameters for encapsulating drugs in nanoparticles

Temperature-sensitive nanoparticle boosts drug antitumor activity

Smart nanoscale bioreactors for drug delivery

In vitro assessment of transferrin-conjugated liposomes as drug delivery systems for inhalation therapy of lung cancer

Computer model reveals a central "road" in the human stomach

Could quantum dots hold the cure to cancer?

Synthetic low-density lipoprotein-like nanoparticles target brain tumors

Researchers study cells whose membranes have been opened by ultrasound

Drug Discovery - Second Edition eBook

Achieving and maintaining ISO/IEC 27001 and BS 10012 certifications

Expanding research and clinical options for children with cancer

Examining how pain could play a direct protective role in the gut

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