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Hydrophobic Drug Solubilisation

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Fundamentals of Pharmaceutical Nanoscience

Abstract

Poorly soluble drugs have always been a challenge to the pharmaceutical industry. Today, it has been estimated that 40 % of new chemical entities fail in development because of adverse physical properties such as poor aqueous solubility. In this chapter, the authors look at the principals of drug solubility and dissolution and evaluate the use of drug nano-crystals and nano-size delivery systems such as liposomes, polymeric micelles and solid lipid nanoparticles in enhancing drug solubility. Additional benefits such as achieving site-specific delivery and facilitating cellular uptake are also discussed. The key advantages that nanotechnologies are able to offer and the challenges in the exploitation of these technologies are outlined with appropriate examples. Clinical experience is included to demonstrate the successful approach in using nanotechnologies for hydrophobic drug solubilisation.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Pharmacy, Keele University, Keele, ST5 5BG, UK

    C. Hoskins

  2. Department of Pharmacy, School of Life and Medical Sciences, University of Hertfordshire, College Lane, Hatfield, AL10 9AB, UK

    W. P. Cheng

Authors
  1. C. Hoskins
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  2. W. P. Cheng
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to W. P. Cheng .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. UCL School of Pharmacy, University College London, London, United Kingdom

    Ijeoma F. Uchegbu

  2. UCL School of Pharmacy, University College London, London, United Kingdom

    Andreas G. Schätzlein

  3. Bexleyheath, United Kingdom

    Woei Ping Cheng

  4. School of Pharmacy & Biomedical Sciences, University of Portsmouth, Portsmouth, United Kingdom

    Aikaterini Lalatsa

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Hoskins, C., Cheng, W.P. (2013). Hydrophobic Drug Solubilisation. In: Uchegbu, I., Schätzlein, A., Cheng, W., Lalatsa, A. (eds) Fundamentals of Pharmaceutical Nanoscience. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4614-9164-4_14

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