Applications of hybrid nanocrystals in drug delivery

The effective delivery of poorly water soluble drugs remains challenging for pharmaceutical industry. Hybrid nanocrystals provide a novel and practical strategy to improve the solubility, dissolution rate, bioimaging ability, and bioavailability of poorly water soluble drugs. This chapter presents properties of different hybrid nanocrystals, including nanocrystal-stabilizer, nano-cocrystal, and bioimaging hybrid nanocrystal. The preparation technologies and corresponding formulation composition of different hybrid nanocrystals are introduced. The influence of hybrid components on the pharmaceutical performance including stability, targeting and absorption enhancing ability, and in vivo tracking property of hybrid nanocrystals is discussed. The applications of various drug delivery system based on hybrid nanocrystals in different administration routes are reviewed.