Pharmaceutical applications of starch nanoparticles: A scoping review

Starch nanoparticles (SNPs) have been applied to different areas of material sciences, especially in pharmaceuticals due to their characteristics such as small particle size, high surface ratio-volume, and biological compatibility. However, in pharmaceutical sciences, there are no records of a scoping review that had extensively mapped all available information about SNPs. A scoping review was performed here by searching electronic databases (Pubmed and Science Direct) to identify studies published previous to June 2020. From 699 total records, 37 matched the criteria for inclusion. The findings showed that SNPs have been used, not only for the development of different active pharmaceutical ingredient delivery systems, but also as an enzyme inhibitor, adsorption, and DNA precipitation agent. In conclusion, by combining different starch sources and methods SNPs show a remarkable diversity in pharmaceutical applications. Future studies should explore SNPs safety and provide information about variables that may affect important properties for this kind of application.