Abstract

SPANLASTICS-FUTURE OF DRUG DELIVERY AND TARGETING

Meenakshi K. Chauhan and Arpita Verma*

Abstract

Delivery of drugs to the targeted tissues is restricted by various barriers. Conventional drug delivery systems like solutions, suspensions, emulsions, tablets, capsules etc. have been devised for treatment of diseases. However, these regimens remained unsuccessful due to poor bioavailability and patient incompliance. Thus, novel drug delivery system (NDDS) such as nanoparticles, nano emulsions, liposomes, dendrimers etc. have been devised to achieve better drug delivery action. As an evolution in drug delivery systems, a new system has been introduced in 2011 named as Spanlastics®. These are highly elastic and deformable, non-ionic surfactant-based vesicles in which an aqueous solution of solute is entirely enclosed by a membrane resulting from the organization of surfactant macromolecules as bilayer. The current review summarizes the structure, advantages, composition, mechanism of drug penetration, method of preparation, evaluation and applications of Spanlastics in drug delivery and targeting. The work focuses on the utility of spanlastics® as drug carriers for site specific action.

Keywords: Nanoparticles, Drug delivery, Spanlastics®, Non-ionic surfactant, Drug carriers.