The Impact of Nanotechnology on Targeted Drug Delivery Systems: A Comprehensive Evaluation of Efficacy and Safety

Abstract

Targeted drug delivery systems based on nanotechnology have become a promising approach to improve therapeutic efficacy with reduced systemic toxicity. Traditional drug delivery methods are inefficient in the sense of drug delivery and cause adverse effects. The physicochemical characteristics, drug release kinetics, biodistribution, and therapeutic efficacy of targeted nanoparticles for drug delivery applications are evaluated in this study.  With poly (lactic-co-glycolic acid) (PLGA) as the carrier, a solvent evaporation method was used to synthesize nanoparticles. Drug release profiles, cellular uptake and cytotoxicity were evaluated using UV visible spectroscopy, confocal microscopy and IC50 measurements in in vitro studies. Biodistribution, pharmacokinetics and tumor growth inhibition were evaluated through fluorescence imaging and high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) in vivo in murine tumor models.  Two phase drug release was observed on targeted nanoparticles, with 20% released in the first six hours and sustained release up to 48 hours. It had a cellular uptake efficiency of 85%, compared with 45% for non-targeted nanoparticles and 25% for free drugs. Extended half-life of 12.5 hours and tumor localization of 45.2% were demonstrated in vivo pharmacokinetics compared to 5.0 hours and 20.3% for free drugs. Targeted nanoparticles reduced tumor volume to 75% compared with 45% with free drugs. By significantly improving drug bioavailability, tumor localization and therapeutic outcomes, while minimizing toxicity, targeted nanoparticles were used. While these findings show the potential of nanotechnology in precision drug delivery, more work will be needed to scale and assess long term safety.