Acta Pharm. 63 (2013) 335-358

full paper

Review

Cyclodextrin based nanosponges for pharmaceutical use: A review

GURSALKAR TEJASHRI, BAJAJ AMRITA and JAIN DARSHANA

darshanaj_cup@yahoo.com

¹ C. U. Shah College of Pharmacy, S.N.D.T. Women’s University, Santacruz, Mumbai-400049, India

² SVKM’s Dr. Bhanuben Nanavati College of Pharmacy, VileParle, Mumbai-400056, India

Accepted January 29, 2013

Nanosponges are a novel class of hyper-crosslinked polymer based colloidal structures consisting of solid nanoparticles with colloidal sizes and nanosized cavities.These nano-sized colloidal carriers have been recently developed and proposed for drug delivery, since their use can solubilize poorly water-soluble drugs and provide prolonged release, as well as improve drug’s bioavailability by modifying pharmacokinetic parameters of actives. Development of nanosponges as carrier drug delivery systems, with special reference to cyclodextrin based nanosponges, is presented in this article. In the current review, attempts have been made to illustrate the features of cyclodextrin based nanosponges and their applications in pharmaceutical formulations. Special emphasis has been led on discussing the methods of preparation, characterization techniques and applications of these novel drug delivery carriers for therapeutic purposes. Nanosponges can be referred to as solid porous particles having a capacity to load drugs and other actives into their nanocavity; they can be formulated as oral, parenteral, topical or inhalation dosage forms. Nanosponges offer high drug loading compared to other nanocarriers and are thus suitable for solving issues related to stability, solubility and delayed release of actives. Controlled release of the loaded actives and solubility enhancement of poorly water soluble drugs are the major advantages of nanosponge drug delivery systems.

Keywords: nanosponges, solubility enhancement, cyclodextrin