Encapsulating Wall Materials for Micro-/Nanocapsules

Wall materials play a vital role in the development of micro-/nanocapsules to protect the bioactive compounds against external factors. The encapsulation process and the type of polymers exert a direct impact on the development of bioactive micro-/nanocapsules, which greatly reflect in encapsulation efficiency, solubility, stability, surface permeability, and release profile of desired bioactive compounds. Among the polymers, biodegradable polymeric materials have been the focus for various applications in food, pharmaceutical, and cosmetic industries. Thus, this chapter focuses on different encapsulation techniques and the importance of biodegradable polymers employed as wall materials for developing stable and safe micro-/nanocapsules. Among the natural polymers, protein- and polysaccharide-based polymers are widely used. Similarly, the most commonly used synthetic polymers are polycaprolactone, poly(lactic-co-glycolic acid), and polyethylene glycol. Synthetic polymers have been classified based on their exogenous and endogenous responsive natures. At the end, we have also discussed on the applications of biodegradable polymers employed in the development of micro-/nanocapsules. To compile this chapter and to provide adequate information to the readers, we have explored various sources, such as reviews, research articles, books, and book chapters including Google sites

Smart Polymers in Drug Delivery Applications

Acknowledgements: The authors sincerely acknowledge the financial supports of the UGC, New Delhi under UPE-FARI Program [F.No. 14-3/2012 (NS/PE)] and the DST, New Delhi under DST-PURSE-Phase-II Program [F.No. SR/PURSE Phase 2/13(G)]. Furthermore, this research was supported by the European Regional Development Fund (FEDER), through COMPETE2020 under the PT2020 program (POCI-01-0145-FEDER-023423), and by the Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology (UID/Multi/04044/2013) and PAMI (ROTEIRO/0328/2013; Nº 022158).The most important components of living cells such as carbohydrates, proteins and nucleic acids are the polymeric molecules. Nature utilizes polymers both as constructive elements and as a part of the complicated cell machinery of living things. The rapid advancement in biomedical research has led to many creative applications for biocompatible polymers. With the development of newer and more potent drugs, a parallel expansion in more sophisticated drug delivery systems becomes mandatory. Smart polymeric drug delivery systems can respond to environmental changes and consequently, alter their properties reversibly enabling an efficient and safe drug delivery. This review comprehensively discusses various aspects of these polymers classified in different categories as per the type of stimulus.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Smart Materials for Biomedical Applications: The Usefulness of Shape-Memory Polymers

Acknowledgments: This research work was supported by the Portuguese Foundation for Science & Technology (FCT) through the Project references CMUP-ERI/TIC/0021/2014 and UID/Multi/04044/2013. In addition, the authors would like to thank Portuguese National Innovation Agency (ANI) through the Project reference POCI-01-0247-FEDER-017963 and European Regional Development Fund (FEDER), through COMPETE2020 under the PT2020 program (POCI-01-0145-FEDER-023423). The authors (MYK and GBH) acknowledge the financial support of UGC, New Delhi under UPE-FAR-I Program [F. No. 14-3/2012 (NS/PE)] and DST, New Delhi under DST-PURSE-Phase-II Program [F. No. SR/PURSE Phase 2/13(G)].This review describes available smart biomaterials for biomedical applications. Biomaterials have gained special attention because of their characteristics, along with biocompatibility, biodegradability, renewability, and inexpensiveness. In addition, they are also sensitive towards various stimuli such as temperature, light, magnetic, electro, pH and can respond to two or more stimuli at the same time. In this manuscript, the suitability of stimuli-responsive smart polymers was examined, providing examples of its usefulness in the biomedical applications.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Protein Nanocarriers for Targeted Drug Delivery for Cancer Therapy

This chapter describes how proteins can be used to provide effective targeted nanocarriers for drugs to target tumors. This approach offers an exciting framework for cancer therapies in the future, allowing multiple therapeutic agents and other functions to be combined in the same particle and ensuring a lower toxicity for the patient. The use of proteins provides a rich library of functional molecules to exploit in this methodology. The role of computer simulation to identify the best combination of protein, ligand, and drugs is highlighted.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio