Sponging innovations: A new era of porous nanocarriers in drug delivery and biomedical applications

Nanosponges (NSs) are the highly crosslinked porous, colloidal carriers which have the unique three-dimensional, sponge-like structure. It is this special structure that enables them to entrap a broad range of therapeutic agents in an efficient manner. Their inner hydrophobic cavities coupled with the hydrophilic outer branches enable them to transport hydrophobic and hydrophilic drugs simultaneously. This makes them greatly increase the drug solubility, stability, and bioavailability. Initially intended as topical agents, NSs have lately demonstrated tremendous potential in various drug administration routes such as oral, parenteral, pulmonary and intravenous. They offer regulated and repetitive discharge of drugs and this enhances treatment results and diminishes the frequency of dosages. Various methods have been devised of NS preparation that include ultrasound-assisted preparation, melt technique, solvent diffusion, polymerization, and hyper-crosslinked cyclodextrin methods. Such procedures enable the researcher to strictly regulate the size of particles, the loading efficiency of drugs and the release dynamics based on the requirements of therapy. NSs have various desirable features such as biocompatibility, biodegradability, scalability to commercial production and increased patient compliance. These advantages have earned their use in diverse applications in numerous diverse areas including cancer treatment, antifungal and antiviral treatments, enzyme immobilization, gas delivery, diagnostic imaging, and biomedical engineering. Nevertheless, it has its problems that are yet to be overcome such as the selling capacity of the drugs, possibilities of dose dumping and stability. The current studies in NS functionalization, the integration of 3D printing, and theragnostic use keep developing their potential and eliminating these drawbacks. To conclude, it is possible to note that NSs are an open and promising platform in nanotechnology that can find a broad spectrum of applications in pharmaceutical and biomedical sciences. The current review is based on the basic idea of NSs, their preparation, classification, principal factors that influence their behaviour, and their recent use especially in drug delivery systems transdermal.