Advanced process and methods of drug delivery process

Abstract

Abstract Drug delivery is defined as the approaches, methods and technologies involved in transporting a drug or biological agent to the target site in order to achieve a desired therapeutic effect. The usual purpose of drug delivery is to improve the bioavailability, duration and therapeutic effects of drugs, while to overcome the shortcomings such as the drug aggregation problem, limited solubility and poor absorption, along with potential side-effects in clinical therapeutic practices. In this article, the process of drug delivery is divided into four parts: the route of administration, the stealth technology for drugs, the targeting technology for drugs, and the triggering technology for drugs. Contents, roles and methods of all the four parts are briefly introduced. Advanced technologies of drug delivery, such as biomimetic modification and surface-charged drug carrier particles for stealth, microenvironment-sensitive ligands branched on drug carrier particles and even heavy metal compounds for targeting, and different triggering methods are concisely reviewed.