Lipid-Based Nanoparticles in Cancer Diagnosis and Therapy

Abstract

Today, researchers are constantly developing new nanomaterials, nanodevices, and nanoparticles to meet unmet needs in the delivery of therapeutic agents and imaging agents for cancer therapy and diagnosis, respectively. Of particular interest here are lipid-based nanoparticles (LNPs) that are genuine particles (approximately 100 nm in dimension) assembled from varieties of lipid and other chemical components that act collectively to overcome biological barriers (biobarriers), in order for LNPs to preferentially accumulate in or around disease-target cells for the functional delivery of therapeutic agents for treatment or of imaging agents for diagnosis. The capabilities of these LNPs will clearly vary depending on functional requirements, but the nanoscale allows for an impressive level of diversity in capabilities to enable corresponding LNPs to address an equally diverse range of functional requirements. Accordingly, LNPs should be considered appropriate vehicles to provide an integrated, personalized approach to cancer diagnosis and therapy in future cancer disease management.

Nanotechnology Based Targeted Drug Delivery Systems in Breast Cancer Therapy

“…These liposome are ideal vehicles to deliver hydrophobic drugs without stimulating an immune response. Furthermore liposomes are the most clinically successful nanocarriers (Cho et al, 2008;Lammers et al, 2008;Miller, 2013).…”

Delivery of RNAi therapeutics: work in progress

“…These concepts are now being used to develop imaging LNPs that are simultaneously set up as triggered drug delivery nanoparticles (triggered theranostic drug-ABC nanoparticles [TNPs]) [184]. In particular, thermally triggered theranostic drug-ABC nanoparticles (thermal trig-anostic drug-ABC nanoparticles [thermal TNPs]) will soon be reported for selected small molecule anticancer drug delivery to tumors triggered by the focal heating effects of ultrasound (Wright 2013, manuscripts in submission).…”

“…Such analyses are still relatively early stage, but prospects for miRNA levels in blood providing diagnostic markers for disease pathogenesis are quite promising. Such data linked with functional genomics and chemical proteomics screens will lead to an improved mechanistic understanding of disease pathogenesis and ideal target identification for RNAi therapeutic strategies [184]. This is particularly true in cancer therapy where cancerous lesions of particular anatomical subsets can be driven by substantially different cell surface receptors and intracellular signaling networks between different patients and this can be true even at different stages in the progression of disease in a single patient.…”

Dual-functional lipid-like nanoparticles for delivery of mRNA and MRI contrast agents

“…8–12 Among these multi-functional carriers, lipid and lipid-like nanoparticles is one type of widely studied delivery systems. 13–19 Because of their inherent properties, they possess a number of advantages including: the capability of entrapping both hydrophilic and hydrophobic agents; efficient encapsulation of payloads; high stability and biocompatibility in vivo . 13, 20 To date, lipid and lipid-like nanoparticles have been applied to deliver a variety of therapeutic agents such as doxorubicin, paclitaxel, and carboplatin in combination with magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) contrast agents such as gadolinium (Gd) based contrast agents for tumor therapy and imaging.…”

“…13–19 Because of their inherent properties, they possess a number of advantages including: the capability of entrapping both hydrophilic and hydrophobic agents; efficient encapsulation of payloads; high stability and biocompatibility in vivo . 13, 20 To date, lipid and lipid-like nanoparticles have been applied to deliver a variety of therapeutic agents such as doxorubicin, paclitaxel, and carboplatin in combination with magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) contrast agents such as gadolinium (Gd) based contrast agents for tumor therapy and imaging. 21–24 Apart from traditional chemotherapeutic agents, plasmid DNA (pDNA) and small interfering RNA (siRNA) have also been co-loaded with MRI agents into lipid-like nanoparticles (LLNs).…”