Engineered Nanoparticles for Drug Delivery in Cancer Therapy

Abstract

In medicine, nanotechnology has sparked a rapidly growing interest as it promises to solve a number of issues associated with conventional therapeutic agents, including their poor water solubility (at least, for most anticancer drugs), lack of targeting capability, nonspecific distribution, systemic toxicity, and low therapeutic index. Over the past several decades, remarkable progress has been made in the development and application of engineered nanoparticles to treat cancer more effectively. For example, therapeutic agents have been integrated with nanoparticles engineered with optimal sizes, shapes, and surface properties to increase their solubility, prolong their circulation half-life, improve their biodistribution, and reduce their immunogenicity. Nanoparticles and their payloads have also been favorably delivered into tumors by taking advantage of the pathophysiological conditions, such as the enhanced permeability and retention effect, and the spatial variations in the pH value. Additionally, targeting ligands (e.g., small organic molecules, peptides, antibodies, and nucleic acids) have been added to the surface of nanoparticles to specifically target cancerous cells through selective binding to the receptors overexpressed on their surface. Furthermore, it has been demonstrated that multiple types of therapeutic drugs and/or diagnostic agents (e.g., contrast agents) could be delivered through the same carrier to enable combination therapy with a potential to overcome multidrug resistance, and real-time readout on the treatment efficacy. It is anticipated that precisely engineered nanoparticles will emerge as the next-generation platform for cancer therapy and many other biomedical applications.

In vitro seed germination and biochemical profiling of Artemisia absinthium exposed to various metallic nanoparticles

“…This science deals with the production of minute particles termed as nanoparticles. Nanoparticles have dimension between 1 and 100 nm that serve as a building block for various physical and biological systems (Sun et al 2014). In the recent years, researchers have started the use of these nanoparticles to enhance the growth, yield, quality, production of secondary metabolites, antioxidants and disease control in plants.…”

Bridging the Knowledge of Different Worlds to Understand the Big Picture of Cancer Nanomedicines

“…[16,33] The rationale of nanoparticle engineering is aimed to improve the therapeutic advantages of cancer nanomedicines, which include: (i) carrying and delivering high amount of therapeutic payloads ranging from small chemotherapy agents to larger biologics without leaking before it reaches the desired tissues or cells; (ii) reducing the interaction with the mononuclear phagocytic system (MPS), thereby prolonging the circulation time in the bloodstream; (iii) increasing the accumulation of nanoparticles in the active tumor sites in order to reduce the unwanted off-target side effects; (iv) attaching multiple targeting ligands to the surface of nanoparticles for high affinity and specificity for tumor tissue or cancer cell targeting; and (v) facilitating the intracellular drug delivery by overcoming the different biological barriers and by-pass the drug resistance mechanism.…”

“…[14][15][16][17] In this direction, an array of nanomedicines has been synthesized, engineered with different physiochemical properties, such as size, shape and surface chemistry, and formulated with a large variety of anti-cancer therapeutics, including surface modifications with, e.g., polyethylene glycol (PEG) or other coatings, in order to extend the circulation time of the nanomedicines in bloodstream. [18][19][20] Various targeting moieties, such as antibodies, peptides, sugars and proteins, have also been attached to nanomedicines in different ways to further facilitate their selective accumulation within the tumors. [21,22] Furthermore, more complex and advanced nanomedicines designs equipped with multiple functions, such as combined therapeutics, imaging, diagnostic moieties with programmed release, have also been developed to improve the therapy of cancer.…”

Spatial Analysis of Metal–PLGA Hybrid Microstructures Using 3D SERS Imaging

“…[14,15] Interestingly, a simple modification of the size of a polymeric microgel can result in a different cell uptake mechanism. [16] In this context, poly(lactic-co-glycolic acid) (PLGA) is a biocompatible (FDA approved) [17] and biodegradable polymer, which is widely used to fabricate nanostructures like microgels, nanoparticles, fibers, or rods. [18,19] PLGA can also be loaded with drugs and functional molecules for further surface functionalization.…”