Polymer-based nanocarriers for vaginal drug delivery

The vaginal delivery of various drugs is well described and its relevance established in current medical practice. Alongside recent advances and achievements in the fields of pharmaceutical nanotechnology and nanomedicine, there is an increasing interest in the potential use of different nanocarriers for the delivery of old and new pharmacologically active molecules with either therapeutic or prophylactic purposes. Nanosystems of polymeric nature in particular have been investigated over the last years and their interactions with mucosal fluids and tissues, as well as genital tract biodistribution upon vaginal administration, are now better understood. While different applications have been envisioned, most of the current research is focusing in the development of nanoformulations with the potential to inhibit the vaginal transmission of HIV upon sexual intercourse. The present work focuses its discussion on the potential and perils of polymer-based nanocarriers for the vaginal administration of different pharmacologically active molecules. (C) 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.