Nanomedicine: is It Lost in translation?

Abstract

By the end of 2017 more than 200,000 scientific research articles had been published about nanomedicine. Out of this vast number only a few of the reported nanoconstructs reached clinical trials for various applications, including the diagnosis and treatment of several cancers, and the treatment of infections and other non-cancerous diseases. 30 years after the pioneering work in this field of research, the low product yield at the end of research pipeline leads to a question that is asked by many: 'had nanomedicine been lost in translation?' In this review, we will discuss the landscape of nanomedicine regarding cancer treatment and miscellaneous applications as well as some obstacles toward full utilization of this powerful therapeutic tool and suggest a few solutions to improve the current translational value of nanomedicine research.

Novel Structural Insight into Inhibitors of Heme Oxygenase-1 (HO-1) by New Imidazole-Based Compounds: Biochemical and In Vitro Anticancer Activity Evaluation

“…Encapsulation of compound 1 into SMA demonstrated reduced cytotoxic activity. This result is quite consistent with the usual lower activity shown in vitro by the nanoformulations [ 46 ]. Nanosystems are internalized through endocytic processes that is time/energy dependent in contrast to the simple diffusion of the hydrophilic compound 1 .…”

“…Nanosystems are internalized through endocytic processes that is time/energy dependent in contrast to the simple diffusion of the hydrophilic compound 1 . Furthermore, in case of SMA- 1 the internalized micelle needed to release its payload from the endocytic body (endosome, lysosome) to interact with the cytoplasmic HO-1 that is otherwise readily available to the free compound 1 [ 46 , 47 ]. The main advantage of nanoformulations is evident in in vivo systems, and it is due to the interaction between multiple organs and tissues, which results in an improved pharmacokinetics profile, such as prolonged T1/2, much slower elimination, and enhanced tumor accumulations [ 47 ].…”

Curcumin–Copper Complex Nanoparticles for the Management of Triple-Negative Breast Cancer

“…In both cell lines, CD showed a slightly enhanced cytotoxicity with respect to SMA–CD (MDA-MB-231 cells IC 50 = 0.125 µM and 0.892 µM, respectively; 4T1 cells IC 50 = 0.892 µM and 1.935 µM, respectively). This result is consistent with the lower in vitro activity of nanocarriers [ 19 ]. Micelles are internalized into the cells via endocytosis [ 20 ], a time and energy-dependent process in contrast to the simple diffusion of the free complex.…”

“…However, a decreased cytotoxicity was observed for the micelle formulation in the TNBC cell lines (MDA-MB-231 and 4T1 cells). This result is in agreement with previous reports demonstrating reduced pharmacological activity in vitro when delivered by NPs as compared to free drug delivery [ 19 ]. The micelles enter the cells through endocytosis in a time and energy-dependent process opposing the diffusion of most of the free drugs.…”

Gene Therapy in Cancer Treatment: Why Go Nano?

“…Nanotechnology refers to the area of science focused on the study of the synthesis, characterization and application of materials and functional systems of particles whose size is between 1-100 nm [31,32]. Nowadays, the interest in these materials is not only due to their small size, but also to their unique physical (electric, optical, magnetic) and chemical properties at these dimensions (in comparison to the same material at the macroscopic scale), conveying a more scalable interaction with cells and biomolecules.…”