AQUASOMES: A POTENTIAL DRUG CARRIER FOR DELIVERING THE BIO-ACTIVE MOLECULES

Farzana Mohammad* and Varalakshmi Mummidi

ABSTRACT

Aquasomes are spherical ―water bodies― like particles which act as a nano-particulate carrier system, but instead of being a simple nanoparticle these aquasomes are three layered structures, self-assembled by both non-covalent and ionic bonds. These aquasomes are also known as ―Ceramic Nanoparticles‖ and the three layered self-assembled structures are comprised of a solid phase nanocrystalline core fabricated from calcium phosphate or ceramic diamond and coated with polyhydroxy oligomeric materials like cellobiose, sucrose, trehalose, lactose to which biochemically active molecules/drug are adsorbed with or without modification. The solid ceramic core will gives the structural stability, and the carbohydrate coating provides protection against dehydration and stabilizes the biochemically active molecules. So, these aquasomes technology acts as a platform for protection and prevention of fragile, conformational integrity and maintaining biochemical stability of bioactives/biological molecules. This delivery system has been successfully utilized for the delivery of drugs like antiviral, anticancer agents, proteins, peptides, enzymes, antigens, hormones and genes by specific targeting, molecular shielding and slow sustained release process.

Keywords: Aquasomes, ceramic, polyhydroxy oligomers, self-assembly, bioactive molecules.