Polymeric nanoparticles (PNPs) are a potential way to send drugs to specific areas because they are biocompatible, biodegradable, and can be designed in a lot of different ways. These nanoparticles can improve the absorption of healing agents, control the release of drugs, and make them more stable. To make PNPs, the right polymers must be chosen. These can be natural or man-made organic materials that can hold a wide range of drugs, including those that don't like water or those that do. Size, form, surface charge, and pores of nanoparticles have a big effect on how much drug they can hold, how fast they release the drug, and how cells take it up. Functionalization of PNPs is important for tailored drug transport because it changes their surface so that it can interact more specifically with receptors that are overexpressed on targeted cells. Researchers are looking into ways to improve the targeting efficiency, such as treating the surface with ligands, antibodies, or peptides and adding elements that respond to inputs. The study also talks about how the properties of nanoparticles affect how they behave in living things, such as how they interact with the immune system, how they move through the body, and how harmful they are. It stresses how important it is to use a combination of polymer chemistry, nanotechnology, and biological engineering to get the most out of drug-loaded PNPs as medicinal tools.
Keywords: Polymeric nanoparticles, Drug delivery, Targeted therapy, Functionalization, Biocompatibility.
How to cite this article: Zaffar S, Awasthi S, Kulkarni N, Inamdar S, Patil SS, Polymeric Nanoparticles for Drug Delivery: Design and Functionalization Strategies .Int J Drug Deliv Technol. 2026;16(1s): 42-49; DOI: 10.25258/ijddt.16. 42-49