Developing an effective and safe cancer therapy could significantly reduce the number of deaths and improve the quality of life of treated patients. Nowadays medicine has developed a wide range of anticancer chemotherapeutics but at the same time there is a lack of effective drug delivery methods. Therefore, the development of the targeted drug delivery system which will selectively release drug into the cancer cells is a key challenge of modern medicine.
The main aim of the presented research was to investigate the targeting effect of a drug delivery system based on the controlled release of dextran nanoparticles containing the anticancer drug – doxorubicin from the alginate microspheres coated with chitosan multilayers.
During the research the physicochemical properties of the alginate microspheres and its stability in the physiological environment were investigated. Moreover, the kinetics of the nanoparticles with doxorubicin release from the alginate microspheres covered with chitosan multilayers was characterized, depending on the thickness of the chitosan layer. Further, the cytotoxicity study of the alginate microspheres covered with chitosan multilayer and containing nanoparticles was performed to determine the therapeutic effect of the released nanoparticles with doxorubicin on the HeLa cells during the in vitro cell culture.

The purpose of the studies was to estimate efficiency of delivering nebulised drugs into the lower respiratory tract through endotracheal tubes (ET tubes) which are commonly used in the treatment of uncooperative patients. Water solution of Disodium Cromoglycate (DSCG) was nebulised with a constant air flow (25 l/min). Experimental studies were done for eight ET tubes with varying sizes (internal diameter, length) and made of two different materials. Size distribution of aerosol leaving ET tubes was determined with the use of aerosol spectrometer. Fine Particle Fraction (FPF) and Mass Median Aerodynamic Diameter (MMAD) were calculated for the aerosol leaving each tube. Additionally, mass of the Disodium Cromoglycate deposited into each endotracheal tube was determined. ET tubes can significantly influence the parameters of delivered aerosol depending on their diameter. FPF of aerosol delivered in to the respiratory tract is lower if small endotracheal tubes are used. However, MMAD and FPF for large endotracheal tubes are almost identical with MMAD and FPF from nebuliser. The results indicate that a substantial fraction of large droplets is eliminated from the aerosol stream in long endotracheal tubes (270 mm). In this case the mass of drug delivered through ET tubes is reduced but the content of small droplets increases (high value of FPF).

Chemical and process engineering offers scientific tools for solving problems in the biomedical field, including drug delivery systems. This paper presents examples of analyzing the dynamics of dispersed systems (aerosols) in medical inhalers to establish a better relationship between the test evaluation results of these devices and the actual delivery of drugs to the lungs. This relationship is referred to as in vitro-in vivo correlation (IVIVC). It has been shown that in dry powder inhalers (DPls), the aerosolization process and drug release times are determined by the inhalation profile produced by the patient. It has also been shown that inspiratory flow affects the size distribution of aerosols generated in other inhalation devices (vibrating mesh nebulizers, VMNs), which is due to the evaporation of droplets after the aerosol is mixed witha dditional air taken in by the patient. The effects demonstrated in this work are overlooked in standard inhaler testing methods, leading to inaccurate information about the health benefits of aerosol therapy, thus limiting the development of improved drug delivery systems.

The paper presents magnetic fluid as an excellent material platform for producing more complex magnetic drug delivery systems. In addition, the paper discusses the nanoparticle morphological (electron microscopy) and structural (X-ray diffraction) characterizations. M ossbauer spectroscopy and photoacoustic spectroscopy are revisited as key tools in the characterization of the magnetic core and diamagnetic shell of the magnetic nanoparticle, respectively.