6533b834fe1ef96bd129de7e

RESEARCH PRODUCT

Modeling of Cell Membrane Targeting: Specific Recognition, Binding, and Protein Domain Formation in Ligand-Containing Model Biomembranes

subject

description

Drug delivery systems are designed to assist, accelerate, and control transport of pharmacologically active agents from sites of administration to specified targets in organs and tissues. So-called controlled drug delivery systems are intended to maintain continuously efficacious drug concentrations in vivo, either locally or systemically, over longer time periods. They should provide constant dosage levels above a minimum level of efficacy yet below mandated toxicity levels — a significant advantage over many conventional systemically administered formulations. Site-specific targeting of drugs, particularly those agents which prove highly toxic in small doses, can be utilized to maintain therapeutically relevant levels of drug to targeted tissue at a localized site specifically without systemic toxicity. Pharmaceutical problems, such as avoidance of first-pass effects in the liver, spleen, and filtration organs, solubility and stability problems in certain formulations, as well as the reliability of long-term delivery within a single device are important advantages in clinical applications of controlled and targeted drug delivery systems.