Recent Patents on Nanomedicine - Volume 4, Issue 1, 2014

The delivery of drug to central nervous system is becoming a challenging task as it has to overcome various obstacles present in the brain i.e. blood brain barrier and blood cerebrospinal fluid barrier. Blood brain barrier is the barrier that comes in the way of central nervous system drug delivery. Brain targeting opens new avenues for researchers to look forward for better advancement so that patients suffering from brain diseases can have a feeling of relief. The current challenge that has to be faced is to create strategies of drug targeting that will permit the drug molecule to pass through blood brain barrier in an effective manner and this review deals with these strategies to safely enhance brain targeted drug delivery. This article reviews the various approaches of brain targeting in terms of various patents and commercial value.

Skin cancer is the leading cause of malignancy in the United States, with Basal Cell Carcinoma, Squamous Cell Carcinoma, and Melanoma being the three most common diagnoses, respectively. Squamous Cell Carcinoma (SCC) is a particular concern for patients suffering from Dystrophic Epidermolysis Bullosa (DEB), a disease that affects the production and function of collagen VII, a protein that forms the anchoring fibrils which bind the epidermis to the dermis. Patients with DEB suffer from chronic blistering and wounds that have impaired healing capabilities, often leading to the development of SCC and eventual mortality. Nanomedicine is playing an increasing role in the delivery of effective therapeutics to combat a wide range of diseases, including the imaging and treatment of SCC. In this review, we discuss the role of nanoparticles in the treatment of SCC with an emphasis on PLGA nanoparticles and SCCs found in patients suffering from DEB, and address recent patents that are pertinent to the development of novel nanomedical therapeutics.

Application of nanotechnology in medicine has resulted in the appearance of new supramolecular systems, complexes and composites. Among these, dendrimers are represented, which are globular in shape with a topological structure formed by monomeric subunit branches on all sides emerging from the central nucleus. This article gives a short patent overview on their possible applications in medicine. Dendrimers can act as contrast agents, drug and gene delivery carriers, drugs treating amyloidosis (including Alzheimer’s disease), antibacterial and antiviral agents, antioxidants, vaccines, immunostimulants (adjuvants), tissue coatings, and dental and medical polymer composites.

Conventional therapy of anticancer drugs shows side effects for this reason it is necessary to develop newer dosage forms such as nanotechnology, to resolve the issues related to the side effects of anticancer drugs. The field of nanotechnology not only resolves the main issue that is, the side effects of anticancer drugs but also provides a promising approach for treatment of cancer. Nanotechnology is the best way to solve the current problems related to cancer therapies due to their size and surface area. As compared to the conventional dosage forms nanoparticulate systems are more effective treatment of cancer due to the prevention of multi drug resistance along with improved therapeutic effects of the anticancer drugs. Liposomes, polymeric nanoparticles, solid lipid nanoparticles and polymer-drug conjugate nanoparticles present a good platform for the treatment of cancer; some of the nanoparticulate dosage forms are already available in the markets and some dosage forms are under research but it is still necessary to do much research in the field of nanotechnology for the treatment of cancer. This review gives information related to the nanotechnology in cancer therapy along with the discussion of patents and advancement of nanoparticles in cancer therapy.

Nanomedicines belong to the class of novel drug delivery systems exploiting the benefits offered by cutting-edge nanotechnology in the field of medicine. The range of nanomedicines is not limited upto the delivery of medicines but it has relevance in other arenas like biosensors, diagnostics, tissue engineering, monitoring, imaging, control, medical devices to name a few. The use of nanomedicines is gaining pace due to its enormous potential and advantages like improved solubility and bioavailability, targeting at diseased sites, controlled release and reduced adverse effects, thus, bypassing the shortcomings of conventional medicines. The nanomedicines are proving to be powerful weapons combating the deadly diseases in the form of liposomes, quantum dots, dendrimers, nanoparticles and nanoemulsions etc. The present manuscript provides a comprehensive review on some of the most recent advancements, inventions and patents on nanomedicines.

The main aim of this study was to design novel pentablock (PB) (PLA–PCL–PEG–PCL–PLA) polymer to prepare nanoparticles (NP) in order to achieve sustain delivery of pazopanib with minimal burst effect for the treatment of ocular neovascularization. Another purpose was to evaluate the effect of pazopanib loaded NP to bypass drug efflux with the discussion of recent patents. PB copolymer was successfully synthesized using ring opening polymerization reaction mechanism and characterized using 1H NMR, GPC and XRD analysis. Synthesized PB copolymer was found to noncytotoxic, non-immunogenic and biocompatible with ocular cell lines. Also, several parameters such as entrapment efficiency, drug loading, in vitro drug release profiling and effect of pazopanib NP in evading efflux transporters were examined. PB copolymer-based NP exhibited continuous release of pazopanib. It can be utilized to achieve continuous first order delivery of pazopanib upto 100 days from nanoparticles without any significant burst effect. Pazopanib loaded NP were successful in evading drug efflux mediated via efflux transporters. This formulation can be employed to circumvent ocular barriers without altering ocular protective mechanisms. Our results indicated that PB copolymer based drug delivery systems can serve as a platform technology for the development of sustained release therapy for the treatment of ocular neovascularization. This drug delivery system can also be applicable for other ocular complications.