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Fundamentals and Design of Drug Delivery Systems

A Textbook with Lab Activities

  • 1st Edition - November 17, 2025
  • Latest edition
  • Author: Wujie Zhang
  • Language: English

Fundamentals and Design of Drug Delivery Systems: A Textbook with Lab Activities is an essential resource for pharmaceutical sciences and engineering students. Covering all key c… Read more

Description

Fundamentals and Design of Drug Delivery Systems: A Textbook with Lab Activities is an essential resource for pharmaceutical sciences and engineering students. Covering all key concepts related to drug delivery courses, it introduces basic pharmacology, barriers to drug delivery, drug targeting, and novel drug delivery systems. Design considerations and approaches are thoroughly illustrated. The textbook reflects nanotechnology in various chapters and includes practical lab activities, providing a comprehensive understanding of drug delivery systems, experimental design, and data analysis. It is ideally suited for upper-undergraduate and graduate courses.

In addition to the foundational material, the textbook delves into cutting-edge topics such as biomimetic drug delivery systems, targeted delivery systems, stimuli-responsive systems, and micro/nano-robots-based drug delivery systems. Emerging fields like cell therapy, artificial intelligence (AI) in drug delivery, and 3D printing-based systems are also explored. Professionals in the Pharma industry will benefit from the innovative concepts and platforms presented, making it a valuable addition to their resources.

Key features

  • Covers contents from the basics of pharmacology and drug delivery to drug delivery systems design
  • Includes content on drug delivery system design
  • Provides easy-to-adopt lab activities and end-of-chapter questions

Readership

Upper undergraduate and graduate students (both Masters and PhD) majoring in pharmaceutical sciences and engineering, Reference book for academics and those who work in the pharmaceutical industry

Table of contents

1. Introduction

1.1 Drug Delivery and Drug Delivery Systems

1.2 The Promise of Novel Drug Delivery Systems

1.3 The Layout of the Textbook

1.4 Resources for Studying Drug Delivery
Lab Activity I: Delivery of nucleic acids into Cells Using Cationic Lipids
Review and Practice Questions
References


2. Historical Aspects of Pharmacy and Delivery of Drugs

2.1 Historical Aspects of Drugs, Pharmacy, and Pharmacy Education

2.2 Historical Aspects of Drug Delivery
Review and Practice Questions
References


3. Basics of Pharmacology, Pharmacokinetics and Pharmacodynamics

3.1 Introduction to Pharmacology, Pharmacokinetics and Pharmacodynamics

3.2 Drug Actions on Living Organisms

3.3 Termination of Drug Actions: Excretion and Biotransformation

3.4 Pharmacokinetics

3.5 Factors Influence the Drug Effects
Case Study I
Lab Activity II: Drug Stability
Review and Practice Questions
References


4. Physiological and Biochemical Barriers to Drug Delivery

4.1 Process of Drug Absorption

4.2 Physiological Barriers to Peroral Drug Delivery

4.3 First-pass metabolism

4.4 Physiological Barriers to Non-peroral Drug Delivery

4.5 Biochemical Barriers to Drug Delivery

4.6 Immune System and Drug Delivery Systems

4.7 Novel Models for Drug Testing
Case Study II
Sample and Practice Questions
References


5. Prodrugs as Drug Delivery Systems

5.1 Introduction to Prodrugs

5.2 Principles of Prodrug Design

5.3 Advances in Prodrugs as Drug Delivery Systems

5.4 New Prodrugs in Therapy
Case Study III
Review and Practice Questions
References


6. Engineered Carriers in Drug Delivery

6.1 Materials for Drug Carriers

6.2 Microscale Drug Carriers

6.3 Nanoscale Drug Carriers

6.4 Design and Modify Drug Carriers
Lab Activity III: Natural Biopolymer Purification
Lab Activity IV: Microscale Carrier Preparation: Hydrogel Microspheres
Lab Activity V: Nanoscale Carrier Preparation: Metallic Nanoparticles
Review and Practice Questions
References


7. Cell Encapsulation – A Living Drug Delivery Approach

7.1 Introduction to Cell Encapsulation and Microencapsulation

7.2 Cell Microencapsulation Methods

7.3 Cell Encapsulation in Therapy
Case Study IV
Lab Activity VI: Cell (Micro)Encapsulation in Hydrogel
Review and Practice Questions
References


8. Diffusion-Controlled Drug Delivery Systems

8.1 Diffusion Theory

8.2 Reservoir Systems

8.3 Matrix Systems

8.4 Design of Diffusion-Controlled Drug Delivery Systems
Review and Practice Questions
References


9. Erodible Drug Delivery Systems

9.1 Introduction to Erosion

9.2 Drug Release from the Erodible Drug Delivery Systems

9.3 Design of Erodible Drug Delivery Systems
Lab Activity VII: Drug Release Profile Determination
Review and Practice Questions
References


10. Osmotic-Controlled Drug Delivery Systems

10.1 Osmosis

10.2 Elementary Osmotic-Controlled Drug Delivery Systems

10.3 Push-Pull Systems

10.4 Design of Osmotic-Controlled Drug Delivery Systems
Case Study V
Review and Practice Questions
References


11. Targeted Drug Delivery Systems

11.1 Requirements for Effective Drug Targeting

11.2 Design of Targeted Drug Delivery Systems: Targets and Ligands

11.3 Design of Targeted Drug Delivery Systems: Physical Targeting

11.4 Design of Targeted Drug Delivery Systems: Passive and Active Targeting
Review and Practice Questions
References


12. Biomimetic Drug Delivery Systems

12.1 Biomimicry

12.2 Cell Membrane/Lipoprotein-Based Drug Delivery Systems

12.3 Extracellular Vesicles-Based Drug Delivery Systems

12.4 Design of Biomimetic Drug Delivery Systems
Review and Practice Questions
References


13. Site-Specific Drug Delivery

13.1 Drug Delivery to the Brain

13.2 Drug Delivery to the Colon

13.3 Drug Delivery in Cancer Therapy
Review and Practice Questions
References


14. Stimuli-Responsive Drug Delivery Systems

14.1 Internal and External Stimuli

14.2 pH-Responsive Drug Delivery Systems

14.3 Redox-Responsive Drug Delivery Systems

14.4 Enzyme-Responsive Drug Delivery Systems

14.5 External Stimuli-Based Drug Delivery Systems

14.6 Design of Stimuli-Responsive Drug Delivery Systems
Case Study VI
Lab Activity VII: Stimuli-Responsive Drug Carriers
Review and Practice Questions
References


15. Other Drug Delivery Systems

15.1 Mucoadhesive Drug Delivery Systems

15.2 Micro Nozzle Technology-Based Drug Delivery Systems

15.3 Microrobots-Based Drug Delivery Systems

15.4 Engineered Cells as Drug Delivery Systems

15.5 Wireless On-Demand Drug Delivery Systems

15.6 3D Printing-Based Drug Delivery Technology

15.7 Artificial Intelligence (AI) in Drug Delivery
Review and Practice Questions
References


16. Commercialization of Controlled Release Products

16.1 Implementation of Quality by Design (QbD), Design of Experiments (DoE) and Process Analytical Technology (PAT)

16.2 New Drug Development and Approval Process

16.3 Recalls, Market Withdraws, and Safety Alerts
Review and Practice Questions
References

Product details

  • Edition: 1
  • Latest edition
  • Published: December 5, 2025
  • Language: English

About the author

WZ

Wujie Zhang

Dr. Wujie Zhang is a professor of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering at the Milwaukee School of Engineering (MSOE). He received his Ph.D. degree in Biomedical Engineering from the University of South Carolina. Dr. Zhang’s scholarly work and research span biomaterials, tissue engineering, drug delivery, and cancer treatment. Dr. Zhang’s recent drug delivery-related research focuses on novel micro/nano-scale drug delivery systems design. Dr. Zhang has published more than 40 peer-reviewed journal articles in ACS Nano, Pharmaceutics, Pharmaceutical Development and Technology, and beyond. He recently authored the book Nanotechnology for Bioengineers. Dr. Zhang has taught the Engineering Controlled Drug Delivery course at MSOE for more than 10 years and developed numerous lab activities for the course. Dr. Zhang has been recognized by the ASEE's Prism magazine as one of 20 high-achieving researchers and educators under 40 (2018) and STEM Forward’s Young Engineer of the Year (2022).

Affiliations and expertise
Professor of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering at the Milwaukee School of Engineering (MSOE), USA

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