Targeted Drug Delivery

Dear Colleagues,

Targeted drug delivery is an advanced method of delivering drugs to patients aiming at increasing the drug’s concentration only in the targeted body part of interest, therefore improving the efficacy of treatment with a reduction of side effects. For this reason, the study of targeted drug delivery systems is under high consideration of research and development in the clinical and pharmaceutical fields.

There are two types of targeted drug delivery: Passive targeting and Active targeting. In both cases, various drug carriers can be used that should be able to cross biological barriers, like the blood brain barrier (BBB) or tumor vasculature in the case of antitumor therapies. Moreover, the drug–carrier complex must be recognized by the target cells specifically and selectively, while being stable in plasma, interstitial liquid, and other biofluids. It should also be biodegradable or readily eliminated from the body without toxic effects, and capable of releasing the drug payload in the target cells, namely, by enzymatic cleavage of appropriate linkers under physiological conditions. The design of suitable carriers that fulfill these requisites for the delivery of different types of drugs (e.g., small organic molecules as cytotoxic agents, metal-based chemotherapeutics, therapeutic antibodies and their fragments) is a quite challenging task and remains a topic of utmost importance in contemporary medicinal chemistry.

This Special Issue of Materials is open to papers focusing on recent developments in the field of targeted drug delivery, either for nanometric (e.g., liposomes, micelles, inorganic nanoparticles, virus like particles, artificial cells) or molecular (antibodies and their fragments, penetrating peptides, etc.) carriers. Contributions reporting image-guided approaches of targeted drug delivery are also welcome. Our intention is to awaken the material science, chemistry, and biology communities to the role of targeted drug delivery systems in the rise of molecular and personalized medicine. Thus, we would be very glad if you consider contributing to this issue by submitting an article (review, research paper, or communication) in one of the topics mentioned above. We are certain your contribution will be inspiring to other scientists engaged in this flourishing field, which will most definitely contribute to the development of more efficient and more selective anticancer therapies in the years to come.

Prof. Dr. António Paulo
Prof. Dr. Paula Campello
Guest Editors

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