Iranian researchers produced a polymeric nanocomposite which can be used in targeted drug delivery systems.

The nanocomposite enables the controlled release of drug in the target tissue and reduces the side effects of the drug as well as increasing its effectiveness.

Targeted drug delivery systems are used to overcome problems, including fluctuation of drug dosage in blood, reduction in the side effect of drugs, specifically on other tissues and the dissatisfaction of patients from the high dosage of the drug during the day. This fact is more important in anticancer drugs that are usually very toxic.

The aim of the research was to produce an appropriate drug delivery system to slowly release ibuprofen drug in a controlled manner in blood plasma simulated solution. A polymeric nanocomposite was designed and produced based on porous silica to be used as a nanocarrier for various drugs, which was ibuprofen in this research as a sample.

The most important advantages of the designed drug delivery system are decreasing the side effects of the drug and increasing its therapeutic effect, which results in the reduction in therapeutic costs. In other words, the drug is released slowly in a controlled manner in the target tissue. This characteristic is an important step to overcome the problems caused by simple and normal methods such as increasing or decreasing the concentration of the drug in blood plasma.

Results of the research have been published in RSC Advances, vol. 5, issue 16, 2015, pp. 12463-12471.