First published in 1996, liposomes have become an important model in fundamental biomembrane research, including biophysical, biochemical, and cell biological studies of membranes and cell function. They are thoroughly studied in several applications, such as drug delivery systems in medical applications and as controlled release systems, microencapsulating media, signal carriers, support matrices, and solubilizers in other applications. While medical applications have been extensively reviewed in recent literature, there is a need for easily accessible information on applications for liposomes beyond pharmacology and medicine. The Handbook of Nonmedical Applications of Liposomes fills this void. This unique new handbook series presents recent developments in the use of liposomes in many scientific disciplines, from studies on the origin of life, protein function, and vesicle shapes, to applications in cosmetics, diagnostics, ecology, bioreclamation, and the food industry. In these volumes many of the top experts contribute extensive reviews of their work.

Drug delivery systems and pharmaceutical nanocarriers that respond to different types of stimuli, such as internal ones, intrinsic for the pathological area (changes in pH, temperature, redox condition, activity of certain enzymes), or external, artificially applied (magnetic field, ultrasound, various irradiations), represent an important and continuously growing area of research. Smart Phramaceutical Nanocarriers overviews the various stimuli used for drug release and delivery by smart pharmaceutical carriers and presents cutting-edge research and the newest data from the leading laboratories in each area.

Drugs usually have no natural affinity for the cells, tissues and organs where therapeutic effects are needed, which frequently results in low efficiency and unwanted side effects. This concern is even more profound when using highly potent and cytotoxic anticancer drugs or specific agents, such as enzymes and genetic materials, since their effective and safe action requires precise cellular or even sub-cellular addressing in the target organ. To meet safety, efficiency and specificity requirements, drugs somehow must be targeted to the sites of their expected therapeutic action. The idea of the "magic bullet," or drug targeting, proposed by Erlich a century ago, generates great and continuously growing interest in biomedical, industrial and financial circles. This book is focused on the strategies designed to target therapeutic or diagnostic agents to the disease sites. In an attempt to include in this volume the set of chapters reflecting both traditional and emerging areas of drug targeting, we have contacted many leading scientists in the field asking for their contributions. Their responses were most favorable and encouraging. As a result, we have succeeded in assembling a series of outstanding contributions reflecting practically all the key areas of drug targeting. The final structure of this book is as follows.

Written by key experts in the field of nanomedicine, this book provides a broad introduction to the important field of nanomedicine and application of nanotechnology for drug delivery. It covers up-to-date information regarding various nanoparticulate drug delivery systems, describes the various opportunities for the application of nanoparticular drug carriers in different areas of clinical medicine, and analyzes already available information on their clinical applications. This book can be used as an advanced textbook by graduate students and young scientists and clinicians at the early stages of their career. It is also suitable for non-experts from related areas of chemistry, biochemistry, molecular biology, biomedical engineering, physiology, experimental and clinical medicine, and pharmaceutical sciences, who are interested in general problems of drug delivery and drug targeting, as well as in more specialized topics of using nanoparticulate-mediated drug delivery approaches in the individual areas of clinical medicine. Prof Torchilin is an expert in Nanomedicine and a recipient of numerous awards including the Lenin Prize in Science & Technology of the former USSR, membership in the European Academy of Sciences, and AAPS Research Achievement Award in Pharmaceutics and Drug Delivery. He served as an Associate Professor of Radiology at Harvard Medical School before joining Northeastern University as the Chairman of the Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences.

First published in 1996, liposomes have become an important model in fundamental biomembrane research, including biophysical, biochemical, and cell biological studies of membranes and cell function. They are thoroughly studied in several applications, such as drug delivery systems in medical applications and as controlled release systems, microencapsulating media, signal carriers, support matrices, and solubilizers in other applications. While medical applications have been extensively reviewed in recent literature, there is a need for easily accessible information on applications for liposomes beyond pharmacology and medicine. The Handbook of Nonmedical Applications of Liposomes fills this void. This unique new handbook series presents recent developments in the use of liposomes in many scientific disciplines, from studies on the origin of life, protein function, and vesicle shapes, to applications in cosmetics, diagnostics, ecology, bioreclamation, and the food industry. In these volumes many of the top experts contribute extensive reviews of their work.

The application of immobilized enzymes in medicine is the main objective of this book. The author reviews natural and synthetic carriers for enzyme immobilization, chemistry of enzyme binding, and in-vitro and in-vivo properties of immobilized enzymes. Four chapters are dedicated to clinical use of immobilized enzymes.

Systems of Nanovesicular Drug Delivery provides a thorough insight into the complete and up-to-date discussions about the preparation, properties and drug delivery applications of various nanovesicles. This volume discusses cubosomes, proniosomes and niosomes, dendrimerosomes and other new and effective approaches for drug delivery. It will be a valuable title and resource for academics and pharmaceutical scientists, including industrial pharmacists, analytical scientists, health care professionals and regulatory scientists actively involved in pharmaceutical products and process development of tailor-made polysaccharides in drug delivery applications. Recently, there have been a number of outstanding nanosystems in nanovesicular carrier-forms (such as nanoemulsions, self-nanoemulsifying systems, nanoliposomes, nanotransferosomes, etc.), that have been researched and developed for efficient drug delivery by many formulators, researchers and scientists. However, no previously published books have covered all these drug delivery nanovesicles collectively in a single resource.

Applications of Nanovesicular Drug Delivery provides thorough insights and a complete and updated discussion on the preparation, properties and drug delivery applications of various nanovesicles. This volume will discuss target-specific drug application, such as ocular, transdermal, nasal, intravenous and oral delivery. This title is a valuable resource for academics, pharmaceutical scientists, including industrial pharmacists and analytical scientists, health care professionals and regulatory scientists actively involved in pharmaceutical products and process development of tailored-made polysaccharides in drug delivery applications. Recently, there have been a number of outstanding nanosystems in nanovesicular carrier-forms (such as nanoemulsions, self-nanoemulsifying systems, nanoliposomes, nanotransferosomes, etc.), that have been researched and developed for efficient drug delivery by many formulators, researchers and scientists. However, no previously published books have covered all these drug delivery nanovesicles collectively in a single resource.

Drugs usually have no natural affinity for the cells, tissues and organs where therapeutic effects are needed, which frequently results in low efficiency and unwanted side effects. This concern is even more profound when using highly potent and cytotoxic anticancer drugs or specific agents, such as enzymes and genetic materials, since their effective and safe action requires precise cellular or even sub-cellular addressing in the target organ. To meet safety, efficiency and specificity requirements, drugs somehow must be targeted to the sites of their expected therapeutic action. The idea of the "magic bullet," or drug targeting, proposed by Erlich a century ago, generates great and continuously growing interest in biomedical, industrial and financial circles. This book is focused on the strategies designed to target therapeutic or diagnostic agents to the disease sites. In an attempt to include in this volume the set of chapters reflecting both traditional and emerging areas of drug targeting, we have contacted many leading scientists in the field asking for their contributions. Their responses were most favorable and encouraging. As a result, we have succeeded in assembling a series of outstanding contributions reflecting practically all the key areas of drug targeting. The final structure of this book is as follows.