Formulation Strategies And Consideration In Nanosuspension Development: A Review

Nanotechnology has emerged as a transformative field in medicine, particularly through the development of nanosuspensions. Nano refers to particles sized between 1-100 nm. Nanosuspensions are a key aspect of nanotechnology, addressing the issue of poor aqueous solubility in many drugs. Drug nanosuspensions offer a universal formulation approach to enhance the therapeutic performance of these drugs across various administration routes. A nanosuspension is defined as a finely colloidal, biphasic dispersion of solid drug particles in an aqueous vehicle with particle sizes below 1 µm. These particles are stabilized by surfactants and polymers and are prepared through suitable methods for drug delivery applications. Various methods used in the formulation of nanosuspension can be classified into top-down and bottom-up approaches. Wet milling, high-pressure homogenization, anti-solvent techniques, melt emulsification, supercritical fluid extraction and ultrasonic homogenization are some of the methods for the preparation of nanosuspension. Nanosuspensions can be administered via oral, topical, parenteral, ocular and pulmonary routes. The advantages of nanosuspensions include improved drug dispersibility and solubilization, increased therapeutic efficacy and reduced toxicity. This review emphasizes various advantages and disadvantages of nanosuspension, its methods of preparation, formulation approaches, evaluation parameters, pharmaceutical applications, marketed products and patents of nanosuspension.