Colloidal systems for drug delivery: from design to therapy
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Updated: May 21, 2026

Facile Preparation of Internally Self-assembled Lipid Particles Stabilized by Carbon Nanotubes
Published on: February 19, 2016
Mariana Beija1, Robert Salvayre, Nancy Lauth-de Viguerie
1Australian Centre For NanoMedicine (ACN), School of Chemical Engineering, The University of New South Wales, Sydney, NSW 2052, Australia. m.beija@unsw.edu.au
Abstract:
Nanomedicine, or medicine using nanometric devices, has emerged in the past decade as an exhilarating domain that can help to solve a number of problems linked to unsatisfactory therapeutic responses of so-called 'old drugs'. This dissatisfaction stems from inadequate biodistribution after a drug's application, which leads to a limited therapeutic response but also to numerous side effects to healthy organs. The biodistribution of drugs encapsulated in a nano object that will act as a vector can be modified to tune its therapeutic efficacy. This review provides a general overview of existing colloidal nanovectors: liposomes, polymeric micelles, polymeric vesicles, polymeric nanoparticles (NPs), and dendrimers. We describe their characteristics, advantages and drawbacks, and discuss their use in the treatment of various diseases.
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