RESUMO
Research in novel drug delivery systems is being explored competitively in order to attain maximum therapeutic effect while minimizing the adverse effects. Despite several advancements in pharmaceutical formulations, one of the major challenges still persisting is sustained drug release. Microencapsulation enacts as an intelligent approach with a strong therapeutic impact and is in demand globally in medical technology due to its specific and attractive properties, including biocompatibility, stability, target specificity, uniform encapsulation, better compliance, and controlled and sustained release patterns that are responsible for diminishing the toxicity and dosage frequency. Microparticles are successful delivery systems that encapsulate both water-insoluble and sparingly water-soluble agents to elicit their efficacy with a great potential attributed to their unique properties: particle size, shape, structure, drug loading, entrapment efficiency, porosity, and release profile. Several marketed microparticle-based formulations are available, including risperidone, buserelin, and octreotide acetate, and some of them are in clinical trials. The present review highlights the detailed therapeutic applications of microparticles with advances from the last decade to treat various disease conditions, including cancer, diabetes, cardiovascular diseases, and neurological disorders, as well as for vaccine delivery, ocular and pulmonary delivery, gene transfer, etc., and exemplifies the future perspectives in these aspects. One day in the future, microparticle-based formulations may become broadly researched in drug delivery systems.