Nanocarrier Mediated Cytosolic Delivery of Drug, DNA and Proteins

Recent researches have focused on the development of a number of macromolecular drugs such as DNA, protein and drugs that are intended to exert their action in cytosol or other intracellular organelle. The major hurdle encountered in their in vivo utilization is endosomal escape of drugs. The advent in research on nanotechnology has offered a number of optional nanocarriers which demonstrate numerous advantages in specialized drug delivery applications. These advantages include stabilization, controlled release and site specific delivery of therapeutic molecules. In addition, the cytosolic delivery to subcellular compartments can also be achieved by inclusion of pH sensitive molecules (lipid, polymer or peptide) in nanocarrier construct to achieve endosomal escape. A number of molecules have been identified that in combination with nanocarriers mediate cytosolic delivery of bioactives.