An accessible and easy-to-read text, this is the first book to provide a comprehensive introduction to the principles of advanced drug delivery and targeting, their current applications, and potential future developments, making it indispensable for pharmaceutical students, scientists and researchers. It covers how to optimize therapeutic efficacy; drug absorption, unwanted distribution and premature inactivation / elimination; attempts to minimize toxicity or alter immunogenicity; achieving rate-controlled drug release and effective drug targeting; routes of delivery; and technologies such as biosensors, microchips, stimuli-sensitive hydrogels, and plasmid-based gene therapy.