Open AccessPharmaceutical applications for catanionic mixtures
Author(s) -
Bramer Tobias,
Dew Noel,
Edsman Katarina
Publication year - 2007
Publication title -
journal of pharmacy and pharmacology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.745
H-Index - 118
eISSN - 2042-7158
pISSN - 0022-3573
DOI - 10.1211/jpp.59.10.0001
Subject(s) - pulmonary surfactant , vesicle , micelle , lamellar structure , drug delivery , chemical engineering , chemistry , chromatography , nanotechnology , materials science , organic chemistry , aqueous solution , crystallography , engineering , membrane , biochemistry
Mixtures of oppositely charged surfactants, so called catanionic mixtures, are a growing area of research. These mixtures have been shown to form several different types of surfactant aggregates, such as micelles of various forms and sizes, and lamellar structures, such as vesicles. In this review, a short introduction to the field of catanionic mixtures is presented and the pharmaceutical possibilities offered by such mixtures are reviewed. There are several interesting ideas on how to apply catanionic mixtures to improve the delivery of, for example, drug compounds and DNA, or for HIV treatment.