Formulations, Advancements and Challenges in Nanotechnology for PharmaceuticalsIntroductionThe study of extremely small structures having dimensions ranging between 1 to 100nm (nano scale), and di?erent scientific as well as engineering processes associated with them is combinedly defined as nanotechnology(Yousaf & Salamat, 2011). In general, the processes in nanotechnology deals with treatment of individual atoms, molecules and compounds in order to develop structures that are further used for producing materials and devices with special properties(Chaudhary & Singh, 2017). The fabrication processes in nanotechnology primarily employ two approaches top-down approach that involves reducing the size of large structures to smaller ones, and bottom-up approach that involves changing individual atoms and molecules into nanostructures, referred to as self-assembly. Most of the techniques in fabrication of nano materials have been borrowed from the field of microfabrication. Developments in the field of nanotechnology and its wide range of applications in di?erent areas, right from the basic sciences to the engineering products has revolutionized scientific progress. This paper attempts to briefly describe some of the advancements made in the domain of pharmaceuticals by leveraging nanotechnology, and limits the scope in giving an overview of di?erent types of pharmaceutical nanosystems that are products engineered at nano scale, which in their own rights or in combination with other systems bring about therapeutic benefits and medicinal value. These nanosystems have brought profound changes in drug delivery systems, therapy techniques, diagnostic techniques, anti-microbial techniques and cell repair finding their uses in the fields ranging from ophthamology, oncology, tissue engineering to gene therapy. Due to their unique properties and widespread usage, a separate section is dedicated to give a glimpse of some of the most popular nanosystems. A broader perspective of the applications of nanotechnology in pharmaceuticals is also presented, concluding the paper with some of the major challenges faced in this spectrum.
