CONICET | Buscador de Institutos y Recursos Humanos

Most of cannabinoids usually present several limitations when evaluating their clinical use, which are mainly related to the side effects that they may cause at the central nervous system and other levels. In this regard, nanotechnology applied to the development of pharmacotherapeutic nanoformulations has become in an attractive tool that allows taking advantage of beneficial properties of multiple drugs, while minimizing or avoiding their undesirable side effects. Nanotechnology is a relatively recent scientific field that involves the study, manipulation, development, and characterization of drug delivery systems at the nanoscale (1 to 1000 nm; 1 nm= 1x10-9 m). Usually, the physicochemical properties of the matter at the nanoscale are significantly different compared to matter at macroscale, due to quantum effects, which provides several advantages over conventional therapeutic alternatives. There are many types of organic and inorganic drug delivery nanosystems. Their morphology, size, composition, surface properties and different physicochemical characteristics, directly or indirectly, may influence on their pharmacodynamic and pharmacokinetic behavior, and consequently, on their biomedical use. Therefore, nanotherapy allows to significantly improving the pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamic behavior of multiple active pharmaceutical ingredients with different limitations and disadvantages, thus enhancing the therapeutic compliance of patients. In general, cannabinoids loaded in nanoformulations offer greater efficacy, lower toxicity and more controlled/prolonged release, than cannabinoids in free form. This mini-revie summarizes the main recent findings on nanomedical strategies and applications for cannabinoid encapsulation, raising the possibility of transferring these advances to the therapy of addictions.

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