An Emerging Era for Targeted Drug Delivery: Nanosponges

Many forms of Pharmaceutical product like nanosponge, nanoemulsion, nano-micelles, and nanosomes have been developed using nanotechnology. The size of Nanosponges is like that of a virus. They are very tiny in size and can permeate through the skin easily. Nanosponges can be distributed throughout the body until they reach their specific target area, where they adhere to the surface and the drug is released in a controlled manner, rather than circulating throughout the body. Nanosponge is a promising strategy to overcome problems associated with formulations such as poor bioavailability, drug toxicity, drug degradation, drug solubility and site specificity of drug. Both lipophillic and hydrophilic drug are incorporated in nanosponge. They can also act as biocatalysts and carrier for enzymes, antibodies, protein and vaccines. The use of a biodegradable polymer can help to maintain a constant drug level by allowing the drug to be released in a controlled way. Technologies employed in nanosponge formulations have been widely studied for drug delivery by topical, oral as well as parenteral administration. Improvement of solubility of poorly water soluble drug is another significant characteristic of Nanosponges. The primary goal of this review article is to provide a basic understanding of nanosponges, including their preparation process, advantages and disadvantages, as well as methods of evaluation and applications.