Herbal nanomedicines and cellular uptake mechanism

Nanoscale resources are increasingly found in trade goods, electronics, and pharmaceuticals. While these particles interrelate with the body in myriad ways, their favorable and/or deleterious effects eventually arise from interactions at the cellular and subcellular levels. Nanoparticle (NP) science is quickly changing the landscape of assorted scientific fields and processing new technological platforms. This is often even more evident within the sector of nanomedicine, wherein NPs are used as a tool for the treatment and identification of many diseases. Despite its significant advantages, one amongst the common pitfalls of this technology is its potential short-and long-term effects on the body. Several scientific studies have been conducted to grasp these problems. This chapter attempts to shed light on these various studies and their outcomes. The topics examined during this chapter embody the assorted encapsulation techniques and potential uptake pathways of NPs and intracellular transport routes. Furthermore, nano-sized drug delivery systems for herbal drugs have a promising future for enhancing the activity and overcoming problems related to plant-based medicines. Hence, integration of the nanocarriers as an NDDS within the traditional medicine system is important to combat chronic diseases like asthma, diabetes, cancer, and others. NPs and submicron particles are increasingly used as carriers for delivering therapeutic compounds to cells. Their entry into the cell represents the initial step of this delivery process, most of the NPs being incorporated by endocytosis, although other mechanisms can contribute to their uptake. To improve the delivery efficiency of therapeutic compounds by NPs and submicron particles, it is necessary to understand the mechanisms involved within the uptake process. The effects of NP chemical properties like size, shape, charge, and surface chemistry on the mechanism of uptake and biological performance of NPs are addressed.