Affiliation:
1. Qilu University of Technology (Shandong Academy of Sciences), Information Research Institute of Shandong Academy
of Sciences, Jinan, China
2. Science and Technology Service Platform, Qilu University of Technology (Shandong Academy of Sciences), Jinan, China
3. School of Medicine, Eastern Liaoning University, Dandong, China
Abstract
Background:
A nano drug delivery system is an effective tool for drug delivery and controlled
release, which is used for a variety of medical applications. In recent decades, nano drug delivery
systems have been significantly developed with the emergence of new nanomaterials and
nanotechnologies.
Objective:
This article aimed to provide insight into the technological development of nano drug
delivery systems through patent analysis.
Methods:
3708 patent documents were used for patent analysis after retrieval from the Incopat patent
database.
Results:
The number of patents on nano drug delivery systems has shown a rapid growth trend in
the past two decades. At present, China and the United States have obvious contributions to the
number of patents. According to the patent data, the nanomaterials used in nano drug delivery system
are mainly inorganic nanomaterials, lipid-based nanomaterials, and macromolecules. In recent
years, the highly cited patents (≥14) for nano drug delivery systems mainly involve lipid-based nanomaterials,
indicating that their technology is mature and widely used. The inorganic nanomaterials
in drug delivery have received increasing attention, and the number of related patents has increased
significantly after 2016. The number of highly cited patents in the United States is 250,
which is much higher than in other countries.
Conclusion:
Even after decades of development, nano drug delivery systems remain a hot topic for
researchers. The significant increase in patents since 2016 can be attributed to the large number of
new patents from China. However, according to the proportion of highly cited patents in total, China's
patented technologies in nano drug delivery systems are not advanced enough compared to developed
countries, including the United States, Canada, Germany, and France. In the future, research
on emerging nanomaterials for nano drug delivery systems, such as inorganic nanomaterials,
may focus on developing new materials and optimising their properties. The lipid-based and polymer-
based nanomaterials can be continuously improved for the development of new nanomedicines.
Publisher
Bentham Science Publishers Ltd.