Editorial Pharmaceutical Nanotechnology, 2019, Vol. 7, No.

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EDITORIAL
Bioinspired Smart Nanosystems in Advanced Therapeutic Applications

The era of application of smart therapeutic systems employing targeted drug delivery strategies for ef-
fective treatment of diseases was started almost several decades. Several research efforts have been under-
taken with time in this area for developing the newer formulation systems and devices. Despite the ad-
vantages of the new developing drugs, the benefits of adopting the modified treatment strategies are high-
ly promising. Among these, the use of bioinspired drug delivery systems acclaimed with biodegradable
and biocompatible properties has gained increasing acceptance. The current editorial delivers an insight
into a series of reviews compiled befitting the title of the special issue. In this thematic issue, a compila-
tion of five review articles is presented focusing on general aspects of bio-inspired nanosystems in thera-
peutics and disease treatment. This special issue has provided a comprehensive perspective on the concept
of bio-inspired smart drug delivery carriers include scheming and developing biocompatible nanomaterials
which can be loaded with cargo for specific drug delivery application. Such carriers are used for versatile
applications in delivering drugs and pharmaceuticals for therapeutic applications, biological markers and
contrast agents for imaging applications, genes and nucleic acids for gene therapy applications. Some in-
stances of the bio-inspired nanocarriers include formulations prepared from bio-nanocomposite materials
such as cellulose, chitosan, starch, polylactic acid, polyhydroxyalkanoates, etc. With the dimensional size
range between 0.1-100 nm, the polymeric nanocomposites have been heavily explored in cancer research,
immunomodulation, tissue engineering, stem cell therapy, cellular and molecular treatment. Besides these,
a series of modifications in the preparations of such nanocarriers have been tried [1]. In this regard, the
bio-inspired metallic nanoparticles have been proved useful in the delivery of drugs to the brain for the
treatment of seizure, epilepsy, Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s diseases. Silica-based nanocomposites are
useful in tissue engineering, imaging, therapeutic and disease-related diagnostic applications [2]. Hydrox-
yapatite nanocomposites and rosette nanotubes have been found useful as scaffolds in nucleic acid engi-
neering applications. Graphene-based nanocomposites are also useful in photodynamic therapy against
cancer treatment and tissue engineering applications. Recently, there are derivatized systems such as pol-
ymeric nanocomposites loaded with nanoparticles were reported in the literature with innovative applica-
tions in gene delivery [3]. Modified polymers composed of cartilages and muscles are useful in tissue en-
gineering applications to produce the mechanically stiff interpenetrating network to facilitate the growth
of bone mass. Moreover, the spatially controlled hydrogel nanocomposites have been designed for con-
trolling cellular microenvironments for mimicking tissue complexity. The microarrays of bioadhesive
nanocomposite microgels have been designed with tunable physical and chemical properties to obtain the
modular sizes and tailored adhesive biomolecule compositions [2].
Overall, these nano devices reported in the literature also have variegated applications as scaffolds with
additional advantage of drug delivery to the local tissues. These bio-inspired nanocarriers are capable of
carrying bioactive molecules to the target sites based on their ability to act in response to the environmen-
tal stimuli available in living cells and/or human body. Besides, the bio-inspired nanosystems are consti-
tuted of lipids, polymers, and biomaterials, thus utilize endogenous responsiveness sensors for targeted
drug delivery application. Moreover, external stimuli such as heat, light, magnetic or electric field and ul-
trasounds, as well as endogenous ones, such as temperature change, pH variations, redox potential and
ionic strength differences can distress the responsiveness of a bio-inspired smart nano-system for drug de-
livery [4]. The content of this thematic issue also highlights the key opportunities and challenges in the
development of bio-inspired smart nanocarriers for therapeutic management [5]. Beyond the literature re-
ports, the articles of this thematic issue has incorporated future prospects in the field useful to the readers.
2211-7393/19 $58.00+.00 © 2019 Bentham Science Publishers
180 Pharmaceutical Nanotechnology, 2019, Vol. 7, No. 3 Editorial

REFERENCES
[1] Harwansh RK, Deshmukh R, Barkat MA, Rahman MA. Bioresponse inspired nanomaterials for targeted drug and gene
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[2] Mishra S, Sharma S, Javed MN, et al. Bioinspired nanocomposites: applications in disease diagnosis and treatment.
Pharm Nanotechnol 2019; 7(3): 206-19.
[3] Sharma S, Javed MN, Pottoo FH, et al. Bioresponse inspired nanomaterials for targeted drug and gene delivery. Pharm
Nanotechnol 2019; 7(3): 220-33.
[4] Jahangir MA, Gilani SJ, Muheem A, et al. Quantum dots: next generation of smart nano-systems. Pharm Nanotechnol
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[5] Singh SP, Sirbaiya AK, Mishra A. Bioinspired smart nanosystems in advanced therapeutic applications. Pharm Nano-
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Prof. Farhan Jalees Ahmad Dr. Sarwar Beg

(Guest Editor) (Guest Editor)
Department of Pharmaceutics Department of Pharmaceutics
School of Pharmaceutical Education and Research School of Pharmaceutical Education and Research
Jamia Hamdard (Hamdard University) Jamia Hamdard (Hamdard University)
New Delhi-110062 New Delhi-110062
India India


Dr. Md. Abul Barkat
(Guest Editor)
Department of Pharmaceutics
School of Medical & Allied Sciences
KR Mangalam University, Gurgaon
Haryana
India