Recent Advances in Biological Strategies for Targeted Drug Delivery

Abstract

Targeted drug delivery system, consisting of a guidance component, a transport vehicle and the drug, is aiming at distributing the drugs to a specific organ or cell type in a sufficient concentration to achieve the high efficiency and alleviate the side-effects of the drugs. During the past decade, besides physical and chemical methods, biological strategies have been developing at an amazing speed improving the drug targeting system. These include: i) searching for guidance components, which include integrin ligands, extracellular matrix proteins, carbohydrates, vitamins, antibodies, nucleic acid aptamers and peptides, leading the whole system to the targeting sites; ii) development of the transport vehicles, such as polymers and plasmid/virus vectors that play the role in carrying drugs and protecting them on their way to the destination; and iii) the design or selection of an effective drug, the "final bullet" that functions on the targeting site, to test the efficiency of the system. Here, we briefly review the recent advances on the development of the most essential targeted drug delivery systems and strategies, and particularly focusing on the progress in discovery of the ligand components and construction of carrying vehicles for drug targeted delivery systems. In addition, we briefly discuss the prospect of this field.

Passive targeting of ischemic-reperfused myocardium with adenosine-loaded silica nanoparticles

“…This approach, known as "targeted drug delivery", offers major advantages as compared with systemic drug distribution, ie, reduced toxicity owing to selective drug accumulation in the target area and increased therapeutic efficacy of the drug. 6 There are two basic principles suggested for targeted drug delivery into affected tissue using nanosized carriers. The first is usually referred to as "passive targeting", suggesting that the drug-loaded nanocarrier is passively retained in areas with increased microvascular permeability.…”

Organic nanoparticles for drug delivery and imaging

“…31 Detailed discussions of ligand-mediated nanoparticle targeting can be found in several reviews. 32 Peptides have also been identifi ed to enhance tumor penetration. Specifi cally, peptides with the motif R/KXXR/K bind to neuropilin-1, a co-receptor for vascular endothelial growth factor, and lead to enhanced cellular entry.…”

Microenvironment and tumor progression of melanoma: New therapeutic prospectives

“…It has been shown for several tumor typologies that it is possible to either inhibit or interfere (both in vitro and in vivo) with the function of these molecules. This inhibition can be performed at both the gene transcription level using, for example, specific siRNA, and at the protein level using specific antibodies against ECM proteins (Sanz and Alvarez-Vallina, 2005;Aharinejad et al, 2007;Hsu et al, 2007;Kong and Mooney, 2007;Reardon et al, 2007;Ye and Yang, 2009;Weidle et al, 2011).…”