title: The in vivo fate of nanocrystals.
abstract: There has been significant research interest in, and development of, nanocrystals in recent years for the delivery of poorly water-soluble drugs via various routes. However, there is a common misinterpretation of nanocrystallization as an approach to modulate, and more specifically to enhance, the dissolution of drug crystals. Nevertheless, it is possible for nanocrystals to interact with biological tissues because nanocrystals can survive for a longer duration in vivo compared with solution counterparts. Therefore, understanding the in vivo fate of nanocrystals and determining its contribution to efficacy is of tremendous significance for optimizing the performance of nanocrystals. Here, we critically review the general hypotheses related to the in vivo fate of nanocrystals.
authors.affiliation: School of Pharmacy, Fudan University, Key Laboratory of Smart Drug Delivery of MOE and PLA, Shanghai, China.
authors.forename: Yi
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Lu
authors.affiliation: School of Pharmacy, Fudan University, Key Laboratory of Smart Drug Delivery of MOE and PLA, Shanghai, China.
authors.forename: Jianping
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Qi
authors.affiliation: School of Pharmacy, Fudan University, Key Laboratory of Smart Drug Delivery of MOE and PLA, Shanghai, China.
authors.forename: Xiaochun
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Dong
authors.affiliation: School of Pharmacy, Fudan University, Key Laboratory of Smart Drug Delivery of MOE and PLA, Shanghai, China; Key Laboratory for Special Functional Materials of the Ministry of Education, Henan University, Kaifeng, China.
authors.forename: Weili
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Zhao
authors.affiliation: School of Pharmacy, Fudan University, Key Laboratory of Smart Drug Delivery of MOE and PLA, Shanghai, China. Electronic address: wuwei@shmu.edu.cn.
authors.forename: Wei
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Wu
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D002626:Chemistry, Pharmaceutical / Q000379:methods; D016503:Drug Delivery Systems / Q000379:methods; D006801:Humans; D053758:Nanoparticles / Q000737:chemistry*; D004364:Pharmaceutical Preparations / Q000737:chemistry*; D012995:Solubility
chemical_list: D004364:Pharmaceutical Preparations