Pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics of the advanced drug delivery systems

Nanotechnology has afforded a system to devise novel and more efficient means to deliver drug molecules into the body. Consequently, nanotechnology-based advanced drug delivery systems or nanoparticles (NPs) are accounted as a commendable advancement to acquire a drug formulation with manipulated pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamic profiles. NPs have been employed to deliver a drug molecule in a site-specific manner, dissipating toxicity and unwanted effects and thereby improving patient compliance and rendering better therapeutic outcomes. In addition, the materials employed in the design of NPs can enhance the bioavailability of a drug, maintain drug/gene action in the targeted tumor or tissue, improve the stability of obiomacromolecules against enzymatic degradation, and solubilize the drugs for intravascular delivery. Nevertheless, various physicochemical properties of NPs such as composition, particle shape, size, surface charge, and surface modifications (PEGylation, functionalization, and using a targeting ligand) can influence their pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics, which can lead to a change in their therapeutic performance. Therefore a thorough understanding about how the physicochemical characteristics of nanoparticles influence their interactions with the body is pivotal to fabricate “smarter” nanostructures. NPs with definite attributes can demonstrate prolonged circulation time in the blood owing to impaired opsonization and thus surging the cellular uptake and tissue disposition leading to enhanced therapeutic response and patient compliance.