Prospects of Nanoparticles in Cancer Nanomedicine

Dear Colleagues,

The juncture of nanotechnology and medicine gave rise to the field of ‘nanomedicine’ in the archetypal form of nanoparticles carrying drug molecules, which quickly became one of the most intriguing, but also controversial, branches of a new science. Nanoparticle-based nanomedicine can be broadly defined as the branch of medicine that makes use of nanotechnology for disease prevention, monitoring, and intervention through new modalities for imaging, diagnosis, treatment, repair, and regeneration of biological systems. A first unique attribute of nanomedicines is the ability to modulate the distribution of a payload, resulting in improved bioavailability with increased deposition at the biological target and diminished systemic toxicity. Another unique attribute of nanomedicines is their ability to create a ‘nanoenvironment’ providing the necessary solubility, stability and protection to the selected payload.

Nanomedicine holds the potential to improve anticancer therapy and diagnosis. Despite the approval of several nanomedicinal anticancer drugs, such as Onivyde (liposomal irinotecan) and Vyxeos (liposomal daunorubicin plus cytarabine), the success rate of clinical translation remains relatively low. As of 2021, only 14 systemically administered cancer nanomedicines had been approved for clinical use worldwide. No actively targeted or stimulus-responsive cancer nanomedicine has yet been granted regulatory approval, while some are among the >50 anticancer nanoformulations currently undergoing early stages—phase I or II—of clinical trials. Why have so few nanomedicines entered the marketplace?

A batch of problems need to be addressed: How does the nanomaterial composition influence in vivo stability? How do nanoparticles travel through the body? Where do they accumulate? Can we affect the fate of nanomaterials by engineering their surface chemistry? What is the fate of systemically administered nanoparticles? Can we improve their targeting to sites of interest by anchoring specific bioreceptors to the nanoparticle surface? How do we evaluate the long-term toxicity of nanoparticles?

Hot topics to be covered by this Special Issue include the following:

• Synthetic protocols for nanoparticles for cancer nanomedicine;
• The biodegradable design of nanoparticles;
• The biocompatibility of nanoparticles including blood and tissue;
• Nanoparticles for cancer therapy;
• Nanoparticles for cancer imaging;
• The interaction between nanoparticles and bio-interface.

Dr. Wensheng Xie
Prof. Dr. Lingyun Zhao
Guest Editors

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• cancer nanomedicine
• nanoparticle
• biodegradability
• biocompatibility
• nano-biointerface