title: Improving drug biological effects by encapsulation into polymeric nanocapsules.
abstract: This review is based on selected reports from 2004 to 2014 and provides a comprehensive and updated overview of the state of the art related to the drug delivery advantages of polymeric nanocapsules, which are a specific type of polymeric nanoparticles used for improvement of biological effects. Special attention is given to the application of nanocapsules to increase the chemical and photostability of drugs, to modulate the interaction with cells and tissues, to reduce adverse effects of drugs, and to increase the drug efficiency and/or bioavailability. Moreover, this review covers in vitro and in vivo studies, highlighting interesting examples of drugs from several therapeutic classes for which efficacy is improved by encapsulation in different types of nanocapsules, especially in lipid-core nanocapsules. We also briefly present the first results obtained so far attesting to the safety of using polymeric nanocapsules for drug delivery.
authors: Programa de Pós-Graduação em Ciências Farmacêuticas, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul, Porto Alegre, Brazil.
authors: Luiza A
authors: LA
authors: Frank
authors: Programa de Pós-Graduação em Nanotecnologia Farmacêutica, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul, Porto Alegre, Brazil.
authors: Renata V
authors: RV
authors: Contri
authors: Programa de Pós-Graduação em Ciências Farmacêuticas, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul, Porto Alegre, Brazil.|Programa de Pós-Graduação em Nanotecnologia Farmacêutica, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul, Porto Alegre, Brazil.
authors: Ruy C R
authors: RC
authors: Beck
authors: Programa de Pós-Graduação em Ciências Farmacêuticas, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul, Porto Alegre, Brazil.|Programa de Pós-Graduação em Nanotecnologia Farmacêutica, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul, Porto Alegre, Brazil.|Departamento de Química Orgânica, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul, Porto Alegre, Brazil.
authors: Adriana R
authors: AR
authors: Pohlmann
authors: Programa de Pós-Graduação em Ciências Farmacêuticas, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul, Porto Alegre, Brazil.|Programa de Pós-Graduação em Nanotecnologia Farmacêutica, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul, Porto Alegre, Brazil.
authors: Silvia S
authors: SS
authors: Guterres
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D004337:Drug Carriers; D016503:Drug Delivery Systems; D006801:Humans; D053769:Nanocapsules / Q000737:chemistry*; D004364:Pharmaceutical Preparations / Q000737:chemistry*; D011108:Polymers / Q000737:chemistry*
chemical_list: D004337:Drug Carriers; D053769:Nanocapsules; D004364:Pharmaceutical Preparations; D011108:Polymers