Injected nanocrystals for targeted drug delivery

Abstract

Nanocrystals are pure drug crystals with sizes in the nanometer range. Due to the advantages of high drug loading, platform stability, and ease of scaling-up, nanocrystals have been widely used to deliver poorly water-soluble drugs. Nanocrystals in the blood stream can be recognized and sequestered as exogenous materials by mononuclear phagocytic system (MPS) cells, leading to passive accumulation in MPS-rich organs, such as liver, spleen and lung. Particle size, morphology and surface modification affect the biodistribution of nanocrystals. Ligand conjugation and stimuli-responsive polymers can also be used to target nanocrystals to specific pathogenic sites. In this review, the progress on injected nanocrystals for targeted drug delivery is discussed following a brief introduction to nanocrystal preparation methods, i.e., top-down and bottom-up technologies.

Nanocrystals: A perspective on translational research and clinical studies

“…Several hydrophobic drugs have been salvaged via the nanocrystal formulation method. The drugs were successfully developed, and approved by the FDA to treat a variety of indications ranging from dental disorders to cancer in the clinic . Depending on the disease, the approved formulations can be administered via different routes including oral, dermal, and parenteral.…”

“…This highlights the versatility of a nanocrystal drug platform. Pharmacokinetic, biodistribution, and bioavailability data for organs involved in delivery routes tested using nanocrystal technology have been addressed at length previously . Specifically, the reviews of Lu et al 2016 and 2017 delve into the biodistribution pattern of nanocrystal drugs in the blood, heart, liver, spleen, lung, kidney, tumor, and thymus (i.e., the organs involved in clearance/circulation and host immune responses) …”

“…The drugs were successfully developed, and approved by the FDA to treat a variety of indications ranging from dental disorders to cancer in the clinic. 14,[18][19][20][21][22][23][24][25][26][27][28] Depending on the disease, the approved formulations can be administered via different routes including oral, dermal, and parenteral. This highlights the versatility of a nanocrystal drug platform.…”

“…10,13,18,24,25,[29][30][31][32][33][34] Specifically, the reviews of Lu et al 2016 and 2017 delve into the biodistribution pattern of nanocrystal drugs in the blood, heart, liver, spleen, lung, kidney, tumor, and thymus (i.e., the organs involved in clearance/circulation and host immune responses). 24,35 Several articles have been published, discussing the techniques used to synthesize nanocrystal drugs; the type of stabilizers or surfactants involved; and the methods adopted for physicochemical and biological characterization. 10,19,36,37 However, a wide translational gap exists between this highly promising platform and its clinical approval.…”

Folate-Functionalized Mesoporous Silica Nanoparticles as a Liver Tumor-Targeted Drug Delivery System to Improve the Antitumor Effect of Paclitaxel

“…China has the highest number of cases of hepatocarcinoma [3]. Many potential antitumor drug candidates exhibit poor solubility in water and poor dissolution, which limits their absorption [4,5]. Conventional anticancer drugs can affect healthy tissues as well as tumors.…”