Advanced Pharmaceutical and Herbal Nanoscience for Targeted Drug Delivery Systems Part II

Nanoscience provides numerous opportunities for pharmaceutical scientists. Due to the continuing progress of nanoparticle-based medicines, the opportunity to treat and combat difficult diseases, especially with herbal remedies, can be achieved. The use of herbs is effective when their active constituents reach the intended target. However, the flavonoids, tannins, and terpenoids present in herbs are hydrophilic and unable to pass through cell lipid membranes. Therefore, their absorption is poor, resulting in reduced availability and biological efficacy, increased dosage, and frequency of use. Nanoengineering has verified that nanoparticles have significant potential as drug carriers. Size reduction methods and technologies produce a wide variety of nanostructures, which are indicative of specific physicochemical and biological properties. This delivery system plays an essential role in increasing the solubility, bioavailability, pharmacological effect, stability, effectiveness, selectivity, and drug specificity of its bioactive constituents. Nanoscale models such as phytosomes, liposomes, nanoemulsions, nanoparticles, solid lipid nanoparticles, and ethosomes are used to deliver various bioactive constituents at adequate doses to the target during the entire treatment period. Phospholipid complex techniques have recently been introduced to overcome these barriers either by enhancing their dissolving capacity or their potential ability to traverse biological membranes and protect the active herbal constituents against degradation. Therefore, this chapter discusses the application of nanoscience for delivering various phytoconstituents in order to achieve therapeutic targets.

Cosmeceutical treatments are one of the fastest-growing segments in personal care for conditions, including ageing, wrinkles, hair damage, and hyperpigmentation. Different local and international brands are implementing this nanotechnology to improve the quality and efficiency of their cosmetic products to make them more innovative. It opens new ideas for the cosmeceutical industries. Changes are being adopted in many sectors to make them more attractive at the molecular and atomic levels. Nanotechnology plays a vital role in the cosmeceutical industry as it has many merits, like it improves the bioavailability of drugs and, at the same time, increases the effects of cosmetics. It has many advantages like controlling, penetrating, and sustaining the release of drugs in the skin, achieving a specific target, better efficiency, and stability. The micellar nanoparticle is the upcoming field, which is added in cosmetic products and is spread worldwide for commercial purposes. It allows the skin to percolate its bioactive component with the most significant surface area. Nano toxicological researchers are worried about the increasing use of nanoparticles in cosmetics as they can cause a health hazard and penetrate through the skin. This chapter uses nanotechnologies in cosmeceutical products, showing different types of novel carriers used to deliver cosmeceutical products that have merits, demerits, and toxicity in products

Delivery of novel drugs via the transdermal route provides many benefits over traditional delivery. Drug delivery with the help of nanocarriers, such as transfersomes, is considered a promising tool in pharmaceutical research because it is safe and convenient. It provides a long duration of the activity, minimizes the adverse effect, and avoids first-pass metabolism. Furthermore, it enhances pharmacological and physiological response, and the use of penetration enhancers and non-ionic surfactant vesicles have been applied to increase the efficiency of material transfer across the intact skin. However, the inability to penetrate the barrier properties of the stratum corneum and deliver large molecules are some of its limitations. Therefore, drugs are loaded in transfersomes to resolve these problems. Transfersome is a type of vesicle that is ultradeformable or elastic. It is commonly used to provide efficient transdermal delivery of bioactives as a novel carrier. It offers better penetration of intact vesicles, owing to its higher deformability. Transfersomes have a hydrophobic and hydrophilic framework; thus, they are able to accommodate drug molecules with a wide degree of solubility. Transfersomes are made from natural phospholipids and possess high entrapment ability, which makes them biocompatible and biodegradable. In this chapter, we have focused on transfersomes as novel drug delivery systems for targeted delivery of therapeutics, as well as important issues related to and challenges for future clinical applications.

A self-emulsifying drug delivery system is defined as a mixture of isotropic substances such as oil and surfactant solvents/co-solvents, which is used for the improvement of the oral drug delivery system. The oral drug delivery system consists of soft and hard gelatin capsules. They are stable O/W emulsion preparations. There are several types of parameters used in this process. The utilisation of herbal medicine has been gaining popularity of late. Herbal drugs are also used in self-emulsion drug delivery systems due to their isotropic thermodynamic property. The lipophilic nature of this formulation could solve the problem of poor solubility of drugs. The bioavailability of poorly soluble drugs is determined by the drug dissolution process. Prodrug process is used to improve bioavailability.

The phytoconstituents, especially polyphenolic and flavonoids, have various pharmacological activities such as anticancer, antidiabetic, hepatoprotective, antiinflammatory, antiobesity as well as cardioprotective. The polar nature and high molecular weight of these phytoconstituents would limit the rate of permeation through biological membrane and solubility, therefore, leading to a decrease in their bioavailability and therapeutic efficacy. The bioavailability of polyphenolic compounds can be improved by integrating them into the phospholipid-based self-assembled delivery systems, which are referred to as phytosomes or herbosomes. Phytosomes are vesicles in which the phospholipids bond with the hydrogen in the polyphenolic components to deliver the drugs to the targeted site without their metabolism. The present chapters discuss the preparation, properties, characterization, application, various dosage forms, and marketed formulations of the phytosomes. 

Ocular diseases have become a socioeconomic burden throughout the years. Blindness and visual impairment are the two most common ocular diseases worldwide. Not only do they affect the patient, but also the people surrounding them and the community that they are in. There are a lot of medications available for the treatment of ocular diseases, however, these have poor bioavailability because of the structure of the eyes and the barriers that they have. Nanotechnology has been providing significant contributions in the treatment of ocular diseases. Several studies and research are currently being focused on the development of nanomedicines that can achieve more than what the conventional routes of medications of ocular drugs can. Nanotechnology can also provide sustained and targeted delivery systems for ocular drugs. This chapter discusses the mechanisms that would enable nanoparticles to penetrate the ocular barriers and eventually increase the bioavailability of drugs intended to treat ocular diseases. 

Colloidosomes have been recognized as drug delivery systems with significant flexibilities. Colloidosomes are microcapsules having shells of fused coagulated particles, which are processed by the alignment of colloidal particles at the oil-water interface. They have adequate mechanical solidity, compatibility and are capable of encapsulating biologically sensitive materials such as hydrophilic medicines, insecticides, protein, and aroma and delivering them to the desired location. It displays a huge potential in controlled and sustained drug delivery of active constituents. The permeability and dimensions of colloidal particles need to be examined prudently. Colloidsomes can be diversely applied in several fields like protein delivery, gene delivery, targeting the brain and tumour. Many scientists have been delighted by the responsive colloidosomes' ability to successfully deliver drugs to the targeted site without causing any side effects, particularly anticancer drugs. Encapsulation of herbal drugs like curcumin, neem oil, quinine, etc., can also be achieved by colloidsomes. This chapter will cover the various techniques used for the development of colloidosomes and their classification like patchy colloidosomes, aqueous core colloidosomes, responsive colloidosomes, and coated colloidosomes, along with their application in drug delivery. 

For many centuries, herbal medications have been widely explored and utilized in almost all regions of the world. The progression in plant-based chemical and pharmacological sciences has provided a detailed explanation of many plant-based medications. Nanomedicine and other similar nano delivery systems are a comparatively novel but rapidly developing science, where materials in the range of nanoscale are utilized to serve as means of diagnostic tools or to deliver medicinal agents to predetermined targeted sites in a guided manner. Site-directed and tissue- targeted delivery of specific medications is among the different advantages offered by nanotechnology for treating numerous human ailments. Recently, scientists have developed numerous outstanding uses of nanomedicine, involving immunotherapeutic agents, chemotherapeutic agents, and other biological agents for the treatment of different ailments. World Health Organization (WHO) has categorized herbal drugs into the following three types: crude plant materials, prepared plant materials, and therapeutic herbal items. In India, herbal prescriptions are managed by the Service of Ayurveda, Yoga and Naturopathy, Unani, Siddha, and Homeopathy (AYUSH). Regulatory provisions associated with Ayurveda, Unani, Siddha medications are mentioned in the Drugs and Cosmetics Act and Rules 1945. Herbal drug items differ from country to country, including food sources, dietary supplements, and conventional prescriptions. To recognize lately introduced revisions in regulations, a comprehensive literature review for regulations of herbal-based drug products in India and Europe was carried out. Different advisory groups, including the Committee on Herbal Medicinal Products (HMPC) and the board of trustees of the European Medicines Agency (EMA), have created rules for evaluating quality and pre-clinical and clinical efficacy and safety of drugs. Drug and cosmetic acts and rules have been altered as of late to manage the safety, quality, and efficacy of herbal drug items in India. In this chapter, we have summed up all the central issues and progress made by scientists in the field of herbal nanomedicine , including quality control of nano-particles, herbal drug regulations and restrictions, and difficulties observed in the formation of herbal medication.

Dendrimers are radially symmetric, hyperbranched, well-organized, monodispersed, homogenous organic moieties with a three-dimensional structure. They possess terminal functional groups on the surface that improve their functionality and make them a versatile and biocompatible drug delivery module. Due to relatively low bioavailability, poor cell membrane penetration, and water solubility, about 40% of newly discovered bioactive(s) are rejected by the pharmaceutical industry. Nanomedicines based novel drug delivery technologies may be able to assist in conquering this difficulty. Nanoarchitectures with well-defined structure is gaining huge interest in biomedical applications due to their potential to cross the cell membrane and decrease the risk of premature clearance from the body. In this regard, dendrimers have been considered potential delivery modules for the bioactive(s), owing to their nanometric size, branching density, globular shape, highly reactive nature, solubility in water, and comfortable and robust synthesis methods. They could be employed as a carrier for the delivery of various therapeutic(s). They possess the ability to decrease drug toxicity while increasing efficacy. This chapter provides a general outline of the basic introduction of dendrimers and their types, with major emphasis on their applications in advanced targeting and bioactive(s) delivery.

Today, massive investigations have been undertaken to boost the targetoriented distribution of drugs to maximize their therapeutic index. Cell targeting drug delivery is a good candidate in exhibiting therapeutic effect to severe diseases such as cancer; The extent to which the drug can achieve its intended goal is of the utmost importance. This system is designed to aid a drug's ability to pass an obstacle that it might not otherwise be able to pass through regular means; therefore, their impact is pharmacokinetic. The drug's pharmacological effects should remain untouched, like its pharmacodynamic structure. In some cases, the pharmaceutical delivery mechanism has an effect on how the drug appears to work. Drugs must overcome numerous hurdles that are on the way to the target tissue from the administration site. In certain cases, a physically defensive barrier around the drug cargo is created to help the drug navigate over certain barriers. The need for selective medication distribution has, therefore, been well acknowledged in current drug therapy. Thus, in this chapter, we discuss the different organelle targeting drug delivery systems and studies involved in it. 

Nanotechnology is a flourishing science that produces and designs materials at the nanoscale, which ranges from 1 to 100 nanometers. They are commonly known as nanomaterials or nanoparticles. Physical properties that characterize nanoparticles include shape, crystal structure, and solubility properties. These properties affect the behavior, fate, and transport, and ultimately the toxicity of nanomaterials or nanoparticles. They are examined and assessed whether and to what degree they are a threat to the environment or society. 

This chapter evaluates liposomes used as delivery carriers for herbal products, which, due to poor permeability and solubility of extract components, has become a major issue in phytotherapy for treating illnesses and human health problems. Liposomes are vesicular formations with phospholipid bilayers that possess the capability to entrap both water-soluble and hydrophobic substances. However, there are several factors that should be considered with regard to herbal drugs, especially that the preparation technique should be appropriate to the solvent solubility of the plant extracts. In this regard, the ratio of phospholipids to extracts, pH stability, other liposomal components, and the ligand required to render liposome stability, circulation in the bloodstream for protracted periods, and targeted at specific organs should be investigated. The enhancement of phytochemical constituent stability within a context of environmental, physical, and chemical degradation, together with sustained or controlled drug release, can be achieved by incorporating extracts into liposomes. Moreover, the improved oral absorption of plant extracts by encapsulating them into liposomes indicates increased permeability and bioavailability via gastrointestinal tracts, thus enhancing pharmacological effects at low dose concentration as well as decreasing toxicity. However, thousands of constituents contained in plant extracts demonstrate various physicochemical characteristics that constitute significant challenges for liposomal delivery. Consequently, a comprehensive analysis of formulating and manufacturing aspects is required. 

Artificial Intelligence (AI) has been one of the most debated topics of present times as it is transforming nature in almost every aspect. The challenge is to decide whether it will make the planet a better place to live or it will push the human race towards disaster. The seed of AI was sown during the 1950s and continues to hold great future potential. Different policies had been laid down by the government for the ethical use of robots. The chapter gives a glimpse of AI policies in India. The chapter also enumerates the correlation between natural intelligence and software through various software languages like natural language processing, etc. It explains how this interaction between robots and natural intelligence has brought about widespread application. Robots can be used as scientists, nannies, pets, assist doctors in surgery, for cleaning, to provide security, to be used in pharmacies for automated dispensing systems, act as a virtual human body to predict how it will react to new therapeutic drugs, make drug development and drug delivery faster, etc. The policies regarding these robots are made so that they are not misused as their application is increasing day by day. This chapter also enumerates a lot about future aspects of artificial intelligence in traditional medicine.