Polymeric Nanoparticles as Tunable Nanocarriers for Targeted Delivery of Drugs to Skin Tissues for Treatment of Topical Skin Diseases

Abstract

The topical route is the most appropriate route for the targeted delivery of drugs to skin tissues for the treatment of local skin diseases; however, the stratum corneum (SC), the foremost layer of the skin, acts as a major barrier. Numerous passive and active drug delivery techniques have been exploited to overcome this barrier; however, these modalities are associated with several detrimental effects which restrict their clinical applicability. Alternatively, nanotechnology-aided interventions have been extensively investigated for the topical administration of a wide range of therapeutics. In this review, we have mainly focused on the biopharmaceutical significance of polymeric nanoparticles (PNPs) (made from natural polymers) for the treatment of various topical skin diseases such as psoriasis, atopic dermatitis (AD), skin infection, skin cancer, acute-to-chronic wounds, and acne. The encapsulation of drug(s) into the inner core or adsorption onto the shell of PNPs has shown a marked improvement in their physicochemical properties, avoiding premature degradation and controlling the release kinetics, permeation through the SC, and retention in the skin layers. Furthermore, functionalization techniques such as PEGylation, conjugation with targeting ligand, and pH/thermo-responsiveness have shown further success in optimizing the therapeutic efficacy of PNPs for the treatment of skin diseases. Despite enormous progress in the development of PNPs, their clinical translation is still lacking, which could be a potential future perspective for researchers working in this field.

Novel Anti-Acanthamoebic Activities of Irosustat and STX140 and Their Nanoformulations

“…The synthesized Irosustat and STX140 PLGA NP had a PSD of less than 250 nm (Z-average), which is a very good size to allow for cellular uptake, and a Pdi of 0.1 indicating a uniform and narrow unimodal PSD ( Table 1 ) that would reduce drug encapsulation, release, and cellular uptake variability [ 24 , 25 ]. The zeta potential of the loaded NP was found to be negative in water and of a similar value for both drugs, representing the surface charge of PLGA forming the NP and indicating an efficient drug encapsulation rather than its adsorption on the surface of the formed PLGA NP.…”

Functionalization of curcumin nanomedicines: a recent promising adaptation to maximize pharmacokinetic profile, specific cell internalization and anticancer efficacy against breast cancer

“…Polymeric NPs are among the most extensively studied nanodelivery systems due to their intrinsic features including the particle size, morphology, entrapment efficiency, biodegradability, biocompatibility, colloidal stability, and good flexibility of functionalization [ 104 – 110 ]. Depending upon their architecture, polymeric NPs can be classified into (a) nanosphere and (b) nanocapsules [ 111 ]. The nanospheres are polymeric NPs in which drug(s) are encapsulated within the polymeric solid matrix or adsorb on the surfaces; however, in the nanocapsules drug(s) are mainly encapsulated within the inner core which is surround by a solid matrix of polymer.…”

“…The nanospheres are polymeric NPs in which drug(s) are encapsulated within the polymeric solid matrix or adsorb on the surfaces; however, in the nanocapsules drug(s) are mainly encapsulated within the inner core which is surround by a solid matrix of polymer. The properties of polymeric NPs largely depend upon the type of polymer used to construct them [ 111 – 113 ]. A wide variety of polymers such as natural, synthetic, and semi-synthetic polymers have been employed to fabricate the polymeric NPs [ 112 – 115 ].…”

Permeability-Enhanced Liposomal Emulgel Formulation of 5-Fluorouracil for the Treatment of Skin Cancer

“…Thus, formulations must be formulated in such a way that the active medicinal component is transported to the site of action by traversing all three layers of skin along with lipids, fats, and water. Due to their compact size, nanoparticles can traverse the stratum corneum via transcellular, intercellular, and transappendageal transport mechanisms [ 23 ]. Permeation of emulgel depends on the type of gelling agent, surfactant, and permeation enhancers as well.…”