A review of select recent patents on novel nanocarriers

Nanocarriers offer several advantages in drug delivery including increased retention time in the body, the ability to solubilize hydrophobic cargo, and the ability to target specific tissues. These attributes have led to a large volume of research being dedicated to the development of novel nanocarriers and their use in treating disease. Many advances have been made in the synthesis and formulation of nanocarriers. For instance, flash precipitation and the use of rotary evaporator provide new methods for nanocarrier synthesis. Biomolecules like heparin and sarcosine have been successfully utilized for the synthesis of unique copolymers for use in nanocarrier systems. Also, the efficacy of nanocarrier targeting has been increased by taking advantage of unique microenvironments present in specific pathologies, utilization of phage properties, and scaffold systems for multiple targeting moieties. Finally, nanocarriers have been shown to provide immunomodulatory effects. This article provides a focused review of several recent patents covering the synthesis, composition and the use of novel nanocarriers.