The Role of Nanotechnology in the Pharmaceutical Industry: Innovations in Diagnostics and Targeted Drug Delivery
- 1Vaagdevi Institute of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Bollikunta, Warangal, India.
- 2St. Peter’s Institute of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Warangal, India.
- 3Jayamukhi Institute of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Narsampet, Warangal, India.
Abstract
Background: Nanotechnology has emerged as a transformative platform in the pharmaceutical industry, offering innovative solutions to long-standing challenges in disease diagnosis and drug delivery. Operating at the nanoscale (1–100 nm), nanomaterials exhibit unique physicochemical properties—enhanced surface area, improved apparent solubility, quantum-confinement effects, and tunable surface chemistry—that can be strategically exploited to improve therapeutic and diagnostic performance. Objective: This review synthesizes recent advances in nanotechnology-based diagnostic platforms and targeted drug delivery systems, emphasizing their mechanisms, comparative advantages, clinical relevance, and translational limitations. Methods: A structured narrative search was conducted across PubMed, Scopus, Web of Science, and ScienceDirect for records published between January 2010 and December 2025, using Boolean combinations of the terms nanotechnology, nanocarriers, drug delivery, nanodiagnostics, and nanomedicine. Findings: Engineered nanocarriers—liposomes, polymeric nanoparticles, dendrimers, solid lipid nanoparticles, and inorganic nanoparticles—improve biodistribution, protect labile payloads, and enable both passive and ligand-mediated active targeting. In diagnostics, quantum dots, superparamagnetic iron oxide nanoparticles, plasmonic gold nanoparticles, and lab-on-a-chip systems deliver picomolar-to-femtomolar sensitivity and support point-of-care testing. Clinically approved products such as Doxil, Abraxane, and lipid-nanoparticle mRNA vaccines demonstrate real-world translation. Conclusions: Although clinical translation remains constrained by toxicity, manufacturing scalability, and evolving regulatory frameworks, nanotechnology continues to underpin the shift toward personalized and precision medicine.
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BibTeX
@article{kshirasagar2026role,
title = {{The Role of Nanotechnology in the Pharmaceutical Industry: Innovations in Diagnostics and Targeted Drug Delivery}},
author = {Naresh Kshirasagar and Ratnakar Reddy Kotha and Sowmya Rajigari and Srilatha Malvey},
journal = {International Journal of Research in Pharmaceutical Sciences},
year = {2026},
month = jun,
doi = {10.26452/ijrps.v17i2.4416},
url = {https://doi.org/10.26452/ijrps.v17i2.4416},
note = {CC BY},
}
RIS
TY - JOUR
TI - The Role of Nanotechnology in the Pharmaceutical Industry: Innovations in Diagnostics and Targeted Drug Delivery
AU - Naresh Kshirasagar
AU - Ratnakar Reddy Kotha
AU - Sowmya Rajigari
AU - Srilatha Malvey
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/06/01
JO - International Journal of Research in Pharmaceutical Sciences
DO - 10.26452/ijrps.v17i2.4416
UR - https://doi.org/10.26452/ijrps.v17i2.4416
AB - Background: Nanotechnology has emerged as a transformative platform in the pharmaceutical industry, offering innovative solutions to long-standing challenges in disease diagnosis and drug delivery. Operating at the nanoscale (1–100 nm), nanomaterials exhibit unique physicochemical properties—enhanced surface area, improved apparent solubility, quantum-confinement effects, and tunable surface chemistry—that can be strategically exploited to improve therapeutic and diagnostic performance. Objective: This review synthesizes recent advances in nanotechnology-based diagnostic platforms and targeted drug delivery systems, emphasizing their mechanisms, comparative advantages, clinical relevance, and translational limitations. Methods: A structured narrative search was conducted across PubMed, Scopus, Web of Science, and ScienceDirect for records published between January 2010 and December 2025, using Boolean combinations of the terms nanotechnology, nanocarriers, drug delivery, nanodiagnostics, and nanomedicine. Findings: Engineered nanocarriers—liposomes, polymeric nanoparticles, dendrimers, solid lipid nanoparticles, and inorganic nanoparticles—improve biodistribution, protect labile payloads, and enable both passive and ligand-mediated active targeting. In diagnostics, quantum dots, superparamagnetic iron oxide nanoparticles, plasmonic gold nanoparticles, and lab-on-a-chip systems deliver picomolar-to-femtomolar sensitivity and support point-of-care testing. Clinically approved products such as Doxil, Abraxane, and lipid-nanoparticle mRNA vaccines demonstrate real-world translation. Conclusions: Although clinical translation remains constrained by toxicity, manufacturing scalability, and evolving regulatory frameworks, nanotechnology continues to underpin the shift toward personalized and precision medicine.
SN - 0975-7538
ER -