Potential applications and human biosafety of nanomaterials used in nanomedicine

Abstract

With the rapid development of nanotechnology, potential applications of nanomaterials in medicine have been widely researched in recent years. Nanomaterials themselves can be used as image agents or therapeutic drugs, and for drug and gene delivery, biological devices, nanoelectronic biosensors or molecular nanotechnology. As the composition, morphology, chemical properties, implant sites as well as potential applications become more and more complex, human biosafety of nanomaterials for clinical use has become a major concern. If nanoparticles accumulate in the human body or interact with the body molecules or chemical components, health risks may also occur. Accordingly, the unique chemical and physical properties, potential applications in medical fields, as well as human biosafety in clinical trials are reviewed in this study. Finally, this article tries to give some suggestions for future work in nanomedicine research.

Nanocrystals: A perspective on translational research and clinical studies

“…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) …”

“…Pharmacokinetic, biodistribution, and bioavailability data for organs involved in delivery routes tested using nanocrystal technology have been addressed at length previously. 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.…”

Biosafety evaluation of Janus Fe₃O₄-TiO₂ nanoparticles in Sprague Dawley rats after intravenous injection

“…With the rapid development of nanotechnology, potential applications of nanomaterials in medicine have been researched widely in recent years. 1 Nanomaterials have developed rapidly, and traditional nanomaterials are now unable to meet the needs of some special industries or high technology. Multifunctional Janus nanoparticles (NPs) have become a hot spot in the research field of nanomaterials in recent years.…”

Nanomaterials and Their Effects on Health

“…However, since most clinical research reports for nanomedicine products focus mainly on the therapeutic efficacy of drugs, human biosecurity information is limited. In order to evaluate the human biosafety of nanomedicine products in clinical studies, it has been reported that a standardized test battery should be developed, including all indices of blood chemistry, carcinogenic, teratogenic, mutagenic toxicities and immune, nervous and reproductive systems (12).…”