QUANTUM-ASSISTED DRUG DELIVERY: EMERGING FRONTIERS AND PHARMACEUTICAL IMPERATIVES

Quantum technologies—covering quantum computing, quantum-enhanced nanomaterials, and quantum machine learning—are quick to become revolutionary drivers of pharmaceutical sciences which holds a great promise to revolutionize drug delivery in the pharmaceutical sector. Quantum-assisted drug delivery leverages the power of quantum nanomaterials combined with quantum computers to overcome the shortcomings of traditional therapeutic methods. This review showcases their promise in drug delivery: ultra-accurate targeting, expedited design cycles, and enabling personalized therapy. This review offers important concepts, mechanistic understanding, real-world examples, and future prospects, highlighting pharmaceutical imperatives of precision, personalization, and predictive design. Industrial partnerships reveal proof-of-concept implementations in oncology, mRNA therapy, and prodrug designing. It also integrates recent advances in quantum-assisted formulations, quantum-based simulations of drug–targeting interactions, and quantum machine learning strategies. We call attention to the necessity of incorporating quantum understanding into pharmaceutical practice, address challenges, and outline directions for the translation of quantum benefit into practical drug delivery innovations. Although substantial challenges in quantum hardware, scalability of nanocarriers, and regulatory avenues persist, the fast growth of hybrid quantum–classical systems portends an immediate revolution in drug delivery science.

Keywords: Quantum technology, Quantum computing, Nanomaterials, Pharmaceutical imperatives, Quantum machine learning (QML), Quantum formulations.