Nanomedicine

Dear Colleagues,

Nanomedicine involves the applications of nanotechnology, controlled mater in the 1–100 nm range, to the diagnosis, and treatment of major diseases using engineered targeted delivery of diagnostic agents and drugs to specific organs in order to maximize efficiency and avoid side effects. An approach for building a drug delivery system is to incorporate the drug within the nanocarrier that results in increased solubility, metabolic stability, and improved circulation time. The precise targets are cells and receptors including phagocytes, dendritic cells, endothelial cells, tumor cells, and tumor neovasculature that guide the rational approach to appropriate nanocarriers. Chemotherapy has limitations due to the lack of selectivity with severe toxicity. Under these circumstances tumor-targeted delivery of anticancer drugs is probably one of the most important steps for cancer chemotherapy. Therefore ongoing research concerns the “magic bullets” that comprises particle design and formulation that are applied to many drugs and are invading industry with huge potential benefits.

The specific properties of such engineered nanomaterials can be used to overcome some of the limitations found in traditional therapeutic and diagnostic agents. In particular, commonly used materials for nanoparticle carriers of nanodrugs for cancer chemotherapy including cisplatin, carboplatin, bleomycin, 5-fluorouracil, doxorubicin, dactinomycin, 6-mercaptopurine, paclitaxel, docetaxel, topotecan, vinblastin and etoposide etc., are dendrimers, polymers, liposomes, micelles, inorganic, organic nanoparticles, whereas the commonly used nano drugs are liposomes. Other nanoparticles such as tailored polymer nananoparticles, gold nanoparticles and superparamagnetic iron oxide nanoparticles (SPIONs) disclose different properties from those of bulk materials owing to the quantum physics and enhanced surface chemistry related to their nanosize and appear most useful for theranostics, i.e. therapy + diagnostics. Finally, the concept of enhanced permeability and retention (EPR) effect of solid tumors that involves high drug concentration in tumor compared to that of the blood warrants the development of polymeric drugs, while monoclonal antibody conjugates are another direction with increasing recent interest.

This Topical Collection aims to provide a forum for the dissemination of the latest information on related and new aspects of nanomedicine.

Prof. Dr. Didier Astruc
Collection Editor

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