Pharmacokinetics of drugs administered in nanosuspension.

Extract: Nanosuspensions are submicron-sized crystalline drug particles that are stabilized by coatings of surfactant (a surface-active agent which reduces surface tension) to produce stable pharmaceutical formulations. Their development arose in response to the evolving needs of the medicinal chemist over the last twenty years. During this period, the implementation of high throughput screening tests has enabled the identification of molecular drug candidates with greater affinity for protein receptor targets. In general, such lead compounds have proved to be larger and more hydrophobic (water-hating) than previous candidates, thus permitting the exclusion of water from the receptor surface and increasing the hydrophobic interaction with the target. While effective, as demonstrated in in-vitro binding assays, such compounds often lack sufficient water solubility, a parameter required for successful, subsequent development.