**Contents**





## **About the Editor**

**Clare, Hoskins**, Ph.D., Dr Clare Hoskins is a Reader in the School of Pure and Applied Chemistry. She has published >40 peer reviewed articles and filed 1 patent. Her research has been supported with over *£*2M by national (e.g., EPSRC, BBSRC/FAPESP, Wellcome Trust) and international (e.g., Newton-Bhabha & British Council, Iraqi Ministry of Higher Education and Scientific Research) research funding. Clare is the Elected Secretary to the Royal Society of Chemistry, Chemical Nanosciences and Nanotechnology Network, she is a committee member of the UK and Ireland Controlled Release Society and she sits on the British Council Grant Review Panel for Newton Grants. In 2019 Clare was awarded the Academy of Pharmaceutical Sciences 'Emerging Scientist' sponsored by Pfizer and also the North Staffordshire Medical Institute Researcher Award. Clare sits on the editorial board of numerous journals in her field, she leads a vibrant interdisciplinary research group within the them of Bionanotechnology and Analytical Chemistry within the Technology Innovation Centre. The focus of her research is the development of a range of multifunctional nanoparticles and their translation into medical therapies and agricultural products.

## **Preface to "Cancer Nanomedicine"**

Welcome to the special issue on Cancer Nanomedicine within Cancers. It has been a real delight to edit this special edition bringing together cutting edge research within the field with insightful reviews and opinions reflecting our community.

Cancer nanomedicine is a large umbrella under which researchers spanning the physical, chemical and biological sciences. I think this is well reflected in this edition.

Cancer treatments are often hindered by the lack of drug specificity, poor physicochemical properties of active pharmaceutical ingredients, poor penetration ability and drug resistance. With the discovery and characterization of an increasing number of cancer types with little improvement of the ability to diagnose, treatment options or patient prognosis, more advanced technologies are urgently required. Nanotechnology defines particulates within the 1×10−<sup>9</sup> m range. Particulates within the nano-sized domain often exhibit unique properties compared to their larger size scale. These can be exploited in biomedicine for applications such as imaging, cell sorting, drug delivery and targeting. Cancer nanomedicine is rapidly becoming one of the leading areas of promise for cancer therapy, with first-generation treatments already available to patients.

The exciting advances within this field have lead to cancer nanomedicines already been used clinically today. Sceptics would argue that the translation of nanotechnologies into the clinic have not matched the initial hype, however, I believe moving forward more and more commercial success will be achieved. It is estimated that the global nanomedicine market will be worth US\$334 billion by 2025, with cancer nanomedicine dominating in this field. As the science develops and leads us down new avenues, the findings and their meaning are closely scrutinised and debated within the community. This all leads to a thriving and exciting field in which to work.

I hope you enjoy reading the manuscripts within this special edition, since it has been such a grea<sup>t</sup> success with 46 papers being accepted for publication. In order to continue to showcase work in our strong field, a Topical Collection has been permanently opened within Cancers, and I invite you all to consider submitting your next manuscripts into this.

> **Clare Hoskins** *Editor*
