Targeting of captopril to the kidney:towards selective renal ACE inhibition

The present thesis deals with the targeting of the angiotensin converting enzyme (ACE) inhibiting drug captopril to the kidney. Drug targeting is a technique that aims at a more specific action of drugs by restricting their distribution to a specific part of the body. In other words, the targeting of drugs can increase the availability of a drug at a site in the body where the action is desired, while, at the same time, the concentrations of the drug is decreased at other sites in the body. As a consequence of the altered body distribution, drug targeting can improve the therapeutic profile of a drug by elevating drug concentrations selectively at specific sites in the body