Self-ordered nanopore and nanotube platforms for drug delivery applications

Abstract

The application of nanotechnology to medicine termed as 'nanomedicine' is recognised as an emerging field with enormous potential for developing new therapeutic concepts. A range of nanoscale materials have been explored in the last few years for drug delivery to address the problems associated with conventional drug therapies such as limited drug solubility, poor biodistribution, lack of selectivity and unfavourable pharmacokinetics. Among them, nanoporous materials with ordered and controlled pore structures, high surface area and pore volume, attracted great attention, particularly for implantable drug delivery systems. This review presents the recent progress in this field focused on electrochemically engineered nanopores/nanotube materials such as nanoporous alumina and nanotubular titania. The basic concept of fabrication of these unique materials using a self-ordering process, description of their structural properties, biocompatibility and recent applications for therapeutic implants is presented.

Effect of Surface–Molecule Interactions on Molecular Loading Capacity of Nanoporous Gold Thin Films

“…For these platforms, high drug loading capacity and tunable release kinetics are two important figures of merit 1 . Nanostructured materials have shown significant promise in achieving these requirements, where carbon nanotubes, nanoporous anodic alumina, nanotubular titania, and porous silicon are often used [2][3][4][5] . For these material systems with high effective surface area, surface-drug molecule interactions play an essential role in loading capacity and release kinetics [6][7] .…”

Synthesis and characterization of nanoarchitectures from fatty acid derivatives of 2,6-diaminopyridine and 2-aminopyridine

“…The organic nanotubes can provide suitable hollow cylindrical space for biomacromolecules that are at least 10 times larger in dimension as compared to macrocylic molecules used for host-guest study [16]. Because of the confined nanospace, lipid nanotubes (LNTS) have found potential in chemical and biological applications [17][18][19][20][21][22][23], including controlled drug release [19][20][21][22] and artificial chaperoning of denatured protein [23]. Lipid nanotube was used as template for the synthesis of titania, tantalum oxide and vanadium oxide nanotubes [24].…”

A New Nano-Platform for Drug Release via Nanotubular Aluminum Oxide

“…AAO has been of great interest due to its outstanding material properties, including electrical insulation, optical transparency and chemical stability, and most recently because of its biologically inert and biologically compatibility properties [2]. In terms of biological applications, the characteristic periodic porous films of AAO has been used for encapsulating enzymes [3], implant surface coatings on Ti alloys for bone in growth [4][5], membranes for hemodialysis [6], cardiovascular stent applications [7,8], biofiltration [9], and drug delivery [10,11].…”

“…Owing to porous AAO's ability to mimic the dimensions and nanoporous structural components of natural bone and the prospect of housing genes or drugs for therapeutic treatments within the pores [11], AAO films can be seen as promising coatings for medical, particularly orthopedic, implants. Research on biomedical applications of both porous alumina, and along the same lines nanotubular titania (TiO 2 ) [12][13][14][15][16][17][18], has increased tremendously in the past few years.…”

“…AAO nanotubes are an example of a multidisciplinary approach for combining nanotechnology, biomedical engineering, and controlled drug delivery where antibiotics, growth factors, etc. are appropriately needed as well as proper biointegration (osseointegration for example) is desired [11]. The nanotube geometry, as compared to the nanopore geometry with comparable pore diameter, provides ~2X more surface area, which could be utilized to provide more active spots and functional conjugation locations for increased adsorption or biomolecules, proteins, enzymes, and drug molecules.…”