Nanoparticle Drug Delivery Systems and Mechanisms

Nanoparticle drug delivery exploits submicrometre carriers to improve the solubility, stability and targeting of therapeutic agents. By engineering size, surface chemistry and core composition, researchers can achieve controlled release, prolonged circulation and preferential accumulation in diseased tissue. Two broad strategies underpin delivery: passive targeting, which utilises enhanced permeability and retention in leaky vasculature, and active targeting, which employs surface ligands to engage specific cellular receptors. Release mechanisms range from diffusion and biodegradation to environmental triggers such as pH, enzymes or external stimuli. Advances in material design – including liposomes, polymeric micelles, lipid nanocarriers and inorganic particles – have yielded vehicles that protect payloads in circulation, traverse biological barriers and deliver cargo intracellularly. These platforms hold promise across oncology, infectious disease, immunotherapy and gene editing, offering the prospect of reduced off-target toxicity and enhanced therapeutic index.

Research from Nature Portfolio

Recent studies have shown that compatibility between drug and carrier strongly influences in vivo delivery efficiency. By systematically varying carrier composition and assessing drug–carrier miscibility, researchers demonstrated that enhanced hydrophobic matching prolongs drug retention within nanoparticles and improves tumour accumulation. In vivo imaging techniques revealed that optimising physicochemical interactions can increase payload stability in blood circulation and elevate intratumoural concentration without altering particle size. These findings provide practical guidelines for the rational design of nanomedicines, emphasising the need to tailor carrier properties to the physicochemical profile of the active compound.

Nanoparticle Drug Delivery Systems and Mechanisms publication trend

The graph below shows the total number of articles in nanoparticle drug delivery systems and mechanisms across all publications each year (not limited to Nature Index journals).

Technical terms

Nanoparticle: A particle with dimensions between 1 and 100 nm, used to encapsulate and deliver therapeutic agents.

Liposome: A spherical vesicle composed of phospholipid bilayers, often used to carry hydrophilic and hydrophobic drugs.

FRET (Förster resonance energy transfer): A distance-dependent energy transfer process between two chromophores, used to monitor nanoscale structural changes.

Active targeting: The functionalisation of nanoparticle surfaces with ligands (antibodies, peptides) to bind specific cellular receptors.

Passive targeting: The accumulation of nanoparticles in tissues with enhanced vascular permeability, such as tumours, due to their size and circulation time.

References

1. Augmenting drug–carrier compatibility improves tumour nanotherapy efficacy. Nature Communications (2016).
2. Integrity of lipid nanocarriers in bloodstream and tumor quantified by near-infrared ratiometric FRET imaging in living mice. Journal of Controlled Release (2016).
3. Degradation of Drug Delivery Nanocarriers and Payload Release: A Review of Physical Methods for Tracing Nanocarrier Biological Fate. Pharmaceutics (2021).
4. Fluorescent Multifunctional Organic Nanoparticles for Drug Delivery and Bioimaging: A Tutorial Review. Pharmaceutics (2022).