Polymeric nanoparticles for the selective therapy of inflammatory bowel disease

The two main forms of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) are Crohn's disease and ulcerative colitis. Both diseases are chronic relapsing inflammations of the gut. The challenge for drug carrier systems that are used for the therapy of IBD is the delivery of the active ingredient to the site of inflammation. A site-directed targeting should lead to higher local drug concentrations, less systemic absorption, and therewith to less adverse effects. Because nanoparticulate drug carrier systems have the ability to accumulate in the inflamed regions, they offer a new targeting approach in IBD. We describe preparation techniques for polymeric nanoparticles and methods to characterize their physicochemical properties, their behavior in cell culture, and the therapeutic efficiency in murine experimental colitis models.