Nanoparticle-Mediated Targeted Drug Delivery Systems

Dear Colleagues,

We will be serving as Guest Editors for this very interesting Special Issue on “Nanoparticle-Mediated Targeted Drug Delivery Systems”. In drug research and development, delivering drugs to the target sites is crucial to avoid serious off-target side effects and ensure effective medical treatment. Specifically, certain anti-cancer drugs exhibit their activity not only on cancer cells but also on normal cells, causing side effects such as nausea, skin disorders, or hair loss. Central nervous system drug candidates face challenges in penetrating the brain due to the blood–brain barrier. Furthermore, incorrect drug distribution can often lead to adverse events in terms of other diseases. Therefore, precision drug delivery should be enhanced and eventually established. The modification of nanoparticles is relatively straightforward. Consequently, a variety of useful nanoparticles can be produced for drug-controlled release, barrier permeation, including cell membranes, and/or targeting. Additionally, nanoparticles protect their cargos from degradation by enzymes and inhibit their unsuitable activity expression, reducing the risk of off-target side effects. Multiple strategies can be integrated into nanoparticles. Currently, pharmaceutical researchers and healthcare workers are increasingly interested in nanoparticle-mediated targeted drug delivery systems. Drug-loaded nanoparticles are employed differently based on the purpose and target area. Drug delivery systems utilizing nanoparticles as carriers represent promising strategies for achieving intelligent drug distribution. This Special Issue aims to disseminate recent progress and trends in this field. We welcome submissions of all types of original articles related to nanoparticles used for medical treatments.

Topics include, but are not limited to, the strategies outlined below.

˗ As a constituent, nanoparticles are mainly composed of the following:

• Biodegradable artificial polymers;
• Natural polymers (chitosan, PLGA, PGA, etc.);
• Lipids (liposomes, micelles, exosomes, etc.);
• Inorganic materials (Au, Si, Fe₃O₄, etc.);
• Organic materials (albumin, monoclonal antibodies, virosome, etc.);
• Emulsions;
• Other components.

˗ Practically, functionalized or engineered nanoparticles demonstrate the following:

• Passive targeting feature based on the enhanced permeability and retention effect particularly in solid cancers;
• Active targeting feature based on ligand–receptor interactions inducing receptor-mediated endocytosis;
• Magnetic feature;
• pH-sensitive feature;
• Thermosensitive feature;
• Enteric feature in case of oral administration;
• Other useful features.

˗ As drug therapy, nanoparticles are used for the treatment of the following:

• Cancers;
• Central nervous system diseases (Alzheimer's disease, Parkinson's disease, ischemic stroke, glioma, etc.);
• Infectious diseases (influenza, cytomegalovirus, COVID-19, etc.);
• Cardiovascular diseases;
• Lung diseases;
• Eye diseases;
• Other diseases.

˗ As cargo, nanoparticles load or encapsulate the following:

• Low-molecular-weight compounds;
• Peptides;
• Nucleic acids;
• Other compounds.

˗ Other relevant topics.

Dr. Nicolas Tournier
Dr. Toshihiko Tashima
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Pharmaceutics is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2900 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

• drug delivery system
• nanodelivery system
• nanoparticle
• receptor-mediated endocytosis/transcytosis
• enhanced permeability and retention effect (EPR effect)
• cancer therapy
• central nervous system disease therapy
• liposomes
• exosomes
• RNA delivery