Recent Advances in Inorganic Nanoparticle-Based Drug Delivery Systems

Kunihiro      Tsuchida; Tatsuya      Murakami

Abstract

Drug delivery systems, designed to enhance drug efficacy and reduce their adverse effects, have evolved accompanied by the development of novel materials. Nanotechnology is an emerging scientific area that has created a variety of intriguing inorganic nanoparticles. In this review, we focus on the feasibility of inorganic nanoparticles, including iron oxide nanoparticles, gold nanoparticles, fullerenes and carbon nanohorns, as drug carriers, and summarize recent advances in this field.

Keywords: Nanomedicine, drug delivery, gene delivery, drug carrier, iron oxide nanoparticle, gold nanoparticle, fullerene, carbon nanohorn