Drugs usually have no natural affinity for the cells, tissues and organs where therapeutic effects are needed, which frequently results in low efficiency and unwanted side effects. This concern is even more profound when using highly potent and cytotoxic anticancer drugs or specific agents, such as enzymes and genetic materials, since their effective and safe action requires precise cellular or even sub-cellular addressing in the target organ. To meet safety, efficiency and specificity requirements, drugs somehow must be targeted to the sites of their expected therapeutic action. The idea of...

The use of various pharmaceutical carriers to enhance the in vivo efficiency of many drugs and drug administration protocols has been well established during the last decade in both pharmaceutical research and clinical setting. Surface modification of pharmaceutical nanocarriers, such as liposome, micelles, na- capsules, polymeric nanoparticles, solid lipid particles, and niosomes, is normally used to control their biological properties in a desirable fashion and to simulta- ously make them perform various therapeutically or diagnostically important functions. The most important results of...

The fast developing field of nanomedicine uses a broad variety of materials to serve as delivery systems for drugs, genes, and diagnostic agents. This book is the first attempt to put under one cover all major available information about these materials, both still on experimental levels and already applied in patients.

The use of various pharmaceutical carriers to enhance the in vivo efficiency of many drugs and drug administration protocols has been well established during the last decade in both pharmaceutical research and clinical setting. Surface modification of pharmaceutical nanocarriers, such as liposome, micelles, na- capsules, polymeric nanoparticles, solid lipid particles, and niosomes, is normally used to control their biological properties in a desirable fashion and to simulta- ously make them perform various therapeutically or diagnostically important functions. The most important results of...

This book will consist of 4 volumes containing about 70 chapters covering all the major aspects of the growing area of nanomedicine. Leading scientists from 15 countries will cover all major areas of nanobiomedical research - materials for nanomedicine, application of nanomedicine in therapy of various diseases, use of nanomedicines for diagnostic purposes, technology of nanomedicines, and new trends in nanobiomedical research. This is the first detailed handbook specifically addressing various aspects of nanobiomedicine. Readers will be treated to cutting-edge research and the newest data...

Drug delivery systems and pharmaceutical nanocarriers that respond to different types of stimuli, such as internal ones, intrinsic for the pathological area (changes in pH, temperature, redox condition, activity of certain enzymes), or external, artificially applied (magnetic field, ultrasound, various irradiations), represent an important and continuously growing area of research. Smart Phramaceutical Nanocarriers overviews the various stimuli used for drug release and delivery by smart pharmaceutical carriers and presents cutting-edge research and the newest data from the leading...