Coaxial electrohydrodynamic atomization: microparticles for drug delivery applications

Abstract

As cancer takes its toll on human health and well-being, standard treatment techniques such as chemotherapy and radiotherapy often fall short of ideal solutions. In particular, adverse side effects due to excess dosage and collateral damage to healthy cells as well as poor patient compliance due to multiple administrations continue to pose challenges in cancer treatment. Thus, the development of appropriately engineered drug delivery systems (DDS) for effective, controlled and sustained delivery of drugs is of interest for patient treatment. Moreover, the physiopathological characteristics of tumors play an essential role in the success of cancer treatment. Here, we present an overview of the application of double-walled microparticles for local drug delivery with particular focus on the electrohydrodynamic atomization (EHDA) technique and its fabrication challenges. The review highlights the importance of a combination of experimental data and computational simulations for the design of an optimal delivery system.

Keywords: Biodegradable polymers; Coaxial EHDA; Core-shell microparticles; Drug delivery; Electrohydrodynamic atomization; Sustained release.