Drug Carriers Based on Zirconium Phosphate Nanoparticles

The applications for α-zirconium phosphate (α-ZrP) material range from being used as catalyst, energy and electron transfer system, and drug carrier to modified electrodes. In addition, this inorganic material can be modified by manipulating certain variables in its synthesis to obtain a material in the nanoscale, which provides additional possible applications in the area of nanotechnology. Nanoparticles are envisioned as the future of the drug delivery technology due to their many potential applications in medicine, from therapeutic to diagnostic tools. This chapter presents examples of new drug delivery nanomaterials that one has developed in the laboratory by intercalating various drug species into θ-ZrP via direct ion exchange. Insulin is one of the biomolecules that have currently attracted much attention by researchers interested in stabilizing biomolecules for medicinal applications through their immobilization. Nanoparticles are being designed to deliver drugs to specific targets such as cancer cells.