Physical Properties of Nanoparticles That Result in Improved Cancer Targeting

Abstract

The therapeutic efficacy of drugs is dependent upon the ability of a drug to reach its target, and drug penetration into tumors is limited by abnormal vasculature and high interstitial pressure. Chemotherapy is the most common systemic treatment for cancer but can cause undesirable adverse effects, including toxicity to the bone marrow and gastrointestinal system. Therefore, nanotechnology-based drug delivery systems have been developed to reduce the adverse effects of traditional chemotherapy by enhancing the penetration and selective drug retention in tumor tissues. A thorough knowledge of the physical properties (e.g., size, surface charge, shape, and mechanical strength) and chemical attributes of nanoparticles is crucial to facilitate the application of nanotechnology to biomedical applications. This review provides a summary of how the attributes of nanoparticles can be exploited to improve therapeutic efficacy. An ideal nanoparticle is proposed at the end of this review in order to guide future development of nanoparticles for improved drug targeting in vivo.

Solid Polymeric Nanoparticles of Albendazole: Synthesis, Physico-Chemical Characterization and Biological Activity

“…The zeta potential also provides useful data for particle assessment in terms of cellular uptake, biodistribution and interaction with other biological environments [59]. The PU NP were characterized by positive low values of the zeta potential, 32 mV for empty PU NP and 35 mV for ABZ-PU NP thus showing good stability and cell penetrability as well as a low capacity to activate the immune system [49]; positively charged particles have enhanced electrostatic interactions with the negatively charged cell membrane [60] which favor their internalization, as opposed to negatively charged or neutral particles which slow down the diffusion of the active drug into the cell matrix [54,61]. In addition, negatively charged NP are strongly retrieved by the RES system [61].…”

“…The PU NP were characterized by positive low values of the zeta potential, 32 mV for empty PU NP and 35 mV for ABZ-PU NP thus showing good stability and cell penetrability as well as a low capacity to activate the immune system [49]; positively charged particles have enhanced electrostatic interactions with the negatively charged cell membrane [60] which favor their internalization, as opposed to negatively charged or neutral particles which slow down the diffusion of the active drug into the cell matrix [54,61]. In addition, negatively charged NP are strongly retrieved by the RES system [61]. An increase of the zeta potential values of the drug-loaded nanoparticles compared to empty ones could be attributed to the adsorption of the drug to the NP's surface [62]; however, in our experiment the measured values of the zeta potential for the two types of PU NP are very close to each other thus suggesting that ABZ adsorption to the NP surface through hydrogen bonds was negligible.…”

Radiolabeled Gold Nanoparticles for Imaging and Therapy of Cancer

“…It was observed that 68 GaAuNPBBN has a strong internalization in prostate cancer PC3 cells, within 3-5 h of incubation, being mainly concentrated in the cytoplasmic fraction. Blockade experiments performed in PC3 and in LNCaP cell lines with monomeric BBN (7)(8)(9)(10)(11)(12)(13)(14) showed a significant reduction in the cellular internalization of 68 GaAuNPBBN. Analogous results were observed in blockade experiments with LUG for 68 GaAuNPLUG in LNCaP cells.…”

“…In fact, for some of them (e.g., quantum dots), their inherent toxicity is a potential drawback but for many others (e.g., iron oxide and AuNPs) toxicity issues are less relevant. Nanoparticle biodistribution can vary greatly depending on the type and size of the particle, as well as on their surface chemistry [12,13]. For imaging and/or therapy of cancer, the selective delivery of drugs or radionuclides into the tumour tissues is of paramount importance.…”

Design of Targeted Nanostructured Coordination Polymers (NCPs) for Cancer Therapy

“…Many of the current nanomedicines, used for solid tumor treatment, accumulate in tumors due to the EPR effect. A thorough knowledge of the physical properties (e.g., size, surface charge, shape, and mechanical strength) and chemical attributes of nanoparticles facilitates their application in biomedicine [55]. Specifically, nanoparticles in the range 10-100 nm can passively target tumors by freely passing through large pores (40 nm to 1 um in size) and achieve higher intra-tumoral accumulation [56] due to the highly permeable blood vessels provoked by the rapid and defected angiogenesis and dysfunctional lymphatic drainage [57].…”