Prodrug-Based Nanodelivery Strategies
A special issue of Pharmaceuticals (ISSN 1424-8247). This special issue belongs to the section "Pharmaceutical Technology".
Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (30 November 2022) | Viewed by 5153
Special Issue Editor
Special Issue Information
Dear Colleagues,
Chemotherapy is an important treatment modality for many cancers; however, its use is often palliative rather than curative. The basic limitation of chemotherapy is the physiological similarity between normal and tumor cells. Tumor-activated prodrugs have been proposed for drug targeting of tumor cells. The aim of prodrug establishment is to improve toxicity selectivity and physicochemical properties such as solubility and chemical stability. This strategy exploits unique aspects of tumor physiology such as selective enzyme expression or hypoxia. Hence, this strategy is limited to tumor conditions.
Nanodelivery systems represent a relatively new but rapidly developing science, and they are employed in the delivery of therapeutic agents to specific targeted sites in a controlled manner. Nanomaterials can be well defined as a material, with sizes ranging between 1 and 100 nm, which influences drug delivery to tissue engineering, such as in the case of liposomes. Liposomes are now FDA-approved and represent the first generation of nanoparticle-based therapy. Liposomes stay in the blood circulatory system for a prolonged period and enable the release of amalgamated drugs as per the specified dose. Thus, they cause fewer plasma fluctuations with reduced adverse effects. Being nano-sized, the liposomes penetrate the tissue system, facilitate easy uptake of the drug by cells, permit efficient drug delivery, and ensure action at the targeted location.
Encapsulation of prodrugs in liposomes makes them nanomedicines, which can be used in selective targeting of tumors due to the permeability and retention effect, a phenomenon in which nanoparticles can diffuse through relatively large pores in blood vessels and accumulate at tumor sites. Hence, prodrug-based nanodelivery is a prospective approach to increase the selectivity and efficacy of cancer therapy.
Dr. Yulin Leu
Guest Editor
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Keywords
- tumor-activated prodrugs
- glucuronide prodrug
- antitumor agents
- liposomes
- nanomedicines
