Importance of the field: The lack of selective delivery of therapeutic molecules to cancer cells remains a problem in cancer therapy. As a result of this non-selectivity, cytotoxic agents are delivered to both healthy and cancerous cells, resulting in severe side effects for the patient, eventually causing termination of therapy or ineffective therapy resulting in progression or recurrence of the disease. In this context, cationic polymers with net positive surface charge emerge as a promising option owing to their very strong cellular interaction properties and good cellular uptake.Areas covered in this review: In this review, the structure, characteristics and preparation techniques for cationic nanoparticulate drug delivery systems are discussed in the light of cytotoxicity associated with cationic polymers and strong complement activation properties of cationic carrier systems on injection. In vivo behavior and biodistribution of cationic nanoparticles are also reviewed for a better understanding of b...

Objective: It is known that nanoparticulate drug delivery systems comprise a wide variety of dosage forms including nanospheres, micelles, solid lipid nanoparticles, nanoliposomes, dendrimers, magnetic nanoparticles, and nanocapsules. Methods: This review describes nanocapsule preparation techniques and their applications for the treatment of several diseases using patents and examples from the literature. Results: Nanocapsules are vesicular systems consisting of an inner liquid core (aqueous/oily) surrounded by a polymeric wall that have immense potential as drug carriers because of the many advantages like improving poor aqueous solubility, stabilizing drugs by protecting the molecule from the environment, providing the desired pharmacokinetic profile, allowing controlled release, as well as facilitating oral administration. Conclusion: The present study discusses and summarizes patents related to preparation methods of and recent studies from the last 10 years on nanocapsules as drug delivery systems.