IMPORTANCE OF NANOTECHNOLOGY IN PHARMACEUTICAL FORMULATIONS -A REVIEW

Abstract

Nanotechnology has brought a revolution in manufacturing materials, creating a vast number of
new devices, drug delivery systems and monitoring and diagnosing systems, but the implications
if this technology are very diverse, impacting consumers, clinicians and the practice of
informatics. A major area of concern for health care providers is the ethical use of nanomaterials.
Nanotechnology is manipulation of matter on an atomic, molecular, and supramolecular scale.
The earliest, widespread description of nanotechnology referred to the particular technological
goal of precisely manipulating atoms and molecules for fabrication of macroscale products, also
now referred to as molecular nanotechnology. Drugs with high toxic potential like cancer
chemotherapeutic drugs can be given with a better safety profile with the utility of
nanotechnology. These can be made to act specifically at the target tissue by active as well as
passive means. Other modalities of therapy such as heat induced ablation of cancer cells by
nanoshells and gene therapy are also being developed. This review discusses the various
platforms of nanotechnology being used in different aspects of medicine like diagnostics and
therapeutics. The potential toxicities of the nanoparticles are also described in addition to
hypothetical designs such as respirocytes and microbivores. The safety of nanomedicine is not
yet fully defined. However, it is possible that nanomedicine in future would play a crucial role in
the treatment of human diseases and also in enhancement of normal human physiology.