A Comprehensive Procedure to Evaluate the <em>In Vivo</em> Performance of Cancer Nanomedicines

Abstract

Inspired by the success of previous cancer nanomedicines in the clinic, researchers have generated a large number of novel formulations in the past decade. However, only a small number of nanomedicines have been approved for clinical use, whereas the majority of nanomedicines under clinical development have produced disappointing results. One major obstacle to the successful clinical translation of new cancer nanomedicines is the lack of an accurate understanding of their in vivo performance. This article features a rigorous procedure to characterize the in vivo behavior of nanomedicines in tumor-bearing mice at systemic, tissue, single-cell, and subcellular levels via the integration of positron emission tomography-computed tomography (PET-CT), radioactivity quantification methods, flow cytometry, and fluorescence microscopy. Using this approach, researchers can accurately evaluate novel nanoscale formulations in relevant mouse models of cancer. These protocols may have the ability to identify the most promising cancer nanomedicines with high translational potential or to aid in the optimization of cancer nanomedicines for future translation.

Biodegradable Polymeric Nanoparticles for Drug Delivery to Solid Tumors

“…The most important difficulty in obtaining a successful translation of innovative formulations in clinical practice is the lack of knowledge of their in vivo performance at systemic, tissue, and cellular levels ( Tang et al, 2017 ). This large gap between the design of nanosystems and their effective clinical application is primarily due to the partial understanding of the in vivo fate of nanomaterials.…”

Immune cells in cardiac homeostasis and disease: emerging insights from novel technologies

“…Moreover, fluorescent or radiolabelling of nanoparticles allows noninvasive in vivo imaging of the drug dynamics. 98,99 A few preclinical studies have already used nanoparticles designed for selective immunotherapy of CVD. 100,101 For example, systemic administration of nanoparticles for selective Ccl2 transcriptional silencing in bone marrow niche endothelial cells efficiently inhibited leucocyte egress and translated into reduced cardiac leucocyte recruitment upon MI.…”

In Planta Nanosensors: Understanding Biocorona Formation for Functional Design

“…The field of nanomedicine has largely motivated the study of nanoparticle–protein interactions to improve nanoparticle function in applications including drug delivery, disease diagnostics, treatment, and prevention. − Nanoparticle-based sensors have been used to detect metal ions, small molecules, and proteins including biomarkers for early cancer and kidney disease. − As nanotechnologies become more widely used in biological settings, it is increasingly important to understand and predict nanoparticle function and fate in vivo ; despite the successes of some, many nanomaterials produce unsatisfactory results or off-target effects during clinical trials. − This translation of nanomedicines from laboratory development to clinical practice is limited by our lack of control over interactions between the nanoparticle and its surrounding bioenvironment. ,− Although the intrinsic physicochemical characteristics of the nanoparticle determine in vitro functionality, the environment around the nanoparticle in the applied setting, such as blood plasma for intravenous delivery, will play a dominant role in determining the ultimate nanoparticle fate and function.…”