Abstract

NOVEL DRUG DELIVERY SYSTEMS: AN OVERVIEW

Komal Tyagi*

Abstract

Anciently plants are the basic ingredients used as natural remedies for food and medicines. Now global movements are taken for finding the herbal beneficial in plants as a medicament to bring them in market via a suitable drug delivery system for mankind. The basic aim behind this globalization is to treat each disease through herbal approach. However, delivery of herbal drugs also requires modification with the purpose to achieve sustain release, to increase patient compliance etc. previously herbal drugs could not attract scientists towards the modifications of novel drug delivery systems due to processing, standardizing, extracting and identification difficulties. But in today‟s era with the advancement in the technology, novel drug delivery systems (NDDS) approach towards the enhancement of herbal novel drug delivery system. With these advance techniques- protection from toxicity, enhancement in stability, improved bioavailability of herbal medicaments, and protection from physical and chemical degradation can be achieved. Novel drug delivery technologies have advantages in achieving modified delivery of herbal drugs by enhancing the therapeutic value as well as deducing toxicity. Presently, all reviews gives information regarding different novel approaches used for improving safety and efficacy of phytomedicines and application of herbal formulations. The main focus for the development of such delivery systems is for minimized drug degradation and loss, preventing harmful side effects and increased bioavailability. The ability to direct the drug loaded system to the site of interest is known as TARGETING. There are different drug carriers named as soluble polymers, micro particles made up of insoluble (or) biodegradable natural and synthetic polymers, microcapsules, cells, cell ghosts, lipoproteins, liposomes and micelles. Two major mechanisms can be distinguished for addressing the desired sites for drug release, (a) Passive and (b) Active targeting. The controlled drug carrier systems categorized as micellar solutions, vesicles and liquid crystal dispersions as well as nanoparticle dispersions consisting of small particles of 10 – 400 nm offers great promise as drug delivery systems. Hydrogels are three dimensional hydrophilic polymer networks capable of imbibing large amounts of water or biological fluids.

Keywords: New drug delivery system, Phytosome, Nanoparticles, Microsphere, Transdermal Drug Delivery System Carriers, Colloidal drug carriers.