377 | Page International Standard Serial Number (ISSN): 2319-8141 Full Text Available On www.ijupbs.com International Journal of Universal Pharmacy and Bio Sciences 3(4): July-August 2014 INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF UNIVERSAL PHARMACY AND BIO SCIENCES IMPACT FACTOR 2.093*** ICV 5.13*** Pharmaceutical Sciences REVIEW ARTICLE……!!! A REVIEW ON TARGETED DRUG DELIVERY THROUGH NANOSPONGE Flowerlet Mathew*, Soumya S Nair, Krishnapriya G Nair, Arya Soman, Mini Alias ,Jeeva Joseph , Ninu varghese Nirmala college of pharmacy, Muvattupuzha, Kerala. KEYWORDS: Bioavailability, Nanomedicine, Targeted drug delivery. For Correspondence: Flowerlet Mathew * Address: Nirmala college of pharmacy, Muvattupuzha, Kerala. Email: soumya89nair@gmail.co m ABSTRACT Nanotechnology, a multi disciplinary science has received considerable attention in the recent times in the discovery of new chemical entities, diagnosis and treatment of several ailments. Nanomedicine has developed many drug delivering systems like nanoparticles, nanoemulsions, nanosuspensions, nanosponges etc., to overcome the problems of bioavailability out of which nanosponge is an advanced drug delivery system which offers diverse advantages than the other available systems. The development of new colloidal carrier called Nano sponges . Nanosponge is a novel and emerging technology which offers controlled drug delivery for topical use. In this review article, application of nanosponges, its preparation methods and evaluation have been discussed. Nanosponges play a vital role in targeting drug delivery in a controlled manner. A wide variety of drugs can be loaded into nanosponge for targeting drug delivery. Both lipophilic as well as hydrophilic drugs can be loaded into nanosponges. Nanosponges are tiny sponges with a size of about a virus, which can be filled with a wide variety of drugs. These tiny sponges can circulate around the body until they encounter the specific target site and stick on the surface and begin to release the drug in a controlled and predictable manner. Because the drug can be released at the specific target site instead of circulating throughout the body it will be more effective for a particular given dosage. Another important character of these sponges is their aqueous solubility; this allows the use of these systems effectively for drugs with poor solubility.