Affiliation:
1. Chitkara College of Pharmacy, Chitkara University, Punjab, India
2. Department of Pharmacy, Delhi Pharmaceutical
Sciences and Research University, New Delhi, 110017, India
Abstract
Background:
Worldwide, millions of people are affected by liver disorders and issues,
and the successful treatment of patients seems challenging even after many treatment strategies.
Presently, doctors are left with treatments like liver transplantation and resection. Researchers
found it challenging to target the liver due to various drawbacks such as opsonization, mechanical
entrapment, and RES uptake.
Methods:
Literature (from the past ten years) on different research data on the treatment of liver
diseases and study reports on the development of various nanocarriers targeting the liver have been
collected using multiple search engines such as ScienceDirect, j-gate, google scholar, PubMed, scihub,
etc. and data have been compiled accordingly.
Results:
The basics of liver anatomy and various liver cells and pathophysiology of liver diseases,
and liver targeting have been mentioned better to understand the further treatment of various liver
disorders. Various Liver diseases such as hepatitis B, liver fibrosis, hepatocellular carcinoma, acute
liver failure, and liver cirrhosis have been detailed in multiple research studies related to their treatment.
Various strategies for active and passive liver targeting have also been overviewed. Several
advanced reported nanocarriers (liposomes, polymeric micelles, nanoparticles, micro and nanoemulsions,
and phytosomes) are mentioned and their potential in treating liver disorders has been
summarized by compiling research reports related to these nanocarriers.
Conclusion:
The fabrication of nanomedicine incorporating nanocarriers and biomaterials for treating
liver diseases is a big challenge. Understanding various aspects of liver anatomy and liver cells
is the prime requirement while designing successful liver-targeted nano/microcarriers. Also, the
choice of advanced or modified polymeric material in liver targeting is very crucial for their specific
liver cell targeting, for their biocompatibility and biodegradability point of view.
Publisher
Bentham Science Publishers Ltd.
Subject
Clinical Biochemistry,Drug Discovery,Pharmacology,Molecular Medicine