Targeted Delivery of Small and Macromolecular Drugs

Site-specific drug delivery and targeting has attracted much research interest from both academia and industry, but because of the wide array of challenges faced in the development of these systems, only a very few targeted therapies have made it to clinics. Bringing together key research, this volume summarizes current progress with a focus on the novel ideas that are being explored to overcome these challenges. This forward-looking volume includes an in-depth review of various aspects of these drug delivery approaches as well as a detailed discussion of a few case studies in each category.

Site-specific drug delivery and targeting attracts much research interest from both academia and industry, but because of the many challenges faced in the development of these systems, only a handful of targeted therapies have successfully made it into clinical practice.

Focusing on the delivery technologies that utilize both systemic and local routes of administration, Targeted Delivery of Small and Macromolecular Drugs brings together field experts who summarize current progress and discuss novel ideas currently being explored to overcome these challenges.

The contributors discuss the most promising strategies for drug targeting and also examine targeted drug delivery platforms and technologies at various stages of clinical and preclinical development, including:

• Active targeting
• Nucleic acid delivery and targeting
• Intracellular/organelle-specific strategies
• Prodrug strategies
• Organ or tissue-specific drug delivery
• Drug-polymer conjugates and micelles
• Stimuli-responsive systems

The book demonstrates why targeted delivery is one of the most exciting contributions pharmaceutical sciences can make to drug therapy.