Nanotechnology towards prevention of anaemia and osteoporosis: from concept to market

The application of nanotechnology in medicine, diagnostics, therapeutics, drug delivery, etc. in order to overcome the limitations faced by these fields has already been established. Anaemia and osteoporosis are two of the most widely prevalent iron and calcium deficiency diseases among women. Conventional drugs for both have their inherent limitations which can be overcome by nanotechnology. Nanonization of drugs has been established as a very efficient way to enhance the bioavailability and absorption of the drug in the gastrointestinal tract. In addition to this, encapsulation of drugs in solid lipid nanoparticles is also employed to increase the stability of the drug in the gastrointestinal tract and to facilitate its controlled release. Nanotechnology is also applied in bone tissue engineering to prepare bone grafts for bone injury. Nanotechnology-based bone grafts have shown to possess enhanced mechanical properties and better biocompatibility and osteoconduction than the conventional bone grafts. This review article highlights the research trends and challenges of nanotechnology based drugs to combat iron deficiency anaemia and osteoporosis. This review outlines the recent research trends in nano-drugs and touches on issues concerning the market, industries and patents pertaining to drugs for anaemia and osteoporosis. To provide the safety and risk factors of nanomaterials, we have briefly highlighted the toxicological aspects of nanomaterials used in drugs.