Abstract

The field of nanomedicine employs novel drug delivery systems (NDDSs) to overcome the limitations of traditional dosage forms. Conventional formulations are associated with poor drug solubility, toxic side effects, lack of site selectivity, uncontrollable release profile, and low bioavailability. Furthermore, the frequent administration rates of conventional formulations lead to poor patient compliance. Recently, NDDSs have gained much attention mainly in cancer therapy and immunodeficiency diseases due to their high efficacy and stability. The aim of this chapter is to review the literature for SMART nanocarrier-based delivery systems and extended controlled release DDSs which maintain the concentration of the drug within the therapeutic window for a longer time, thereby lowering the frequency of administration. Also microfluidics (MF), one of the most recent fabrication methods used to design and prepare NDDSs has been discussed. MF can be used to create innovative pharmaceutical formulations and can also be applied to other biological and diagnostic purposes.