Nanoparticle-Based Drug Delivery for Therapy of Lung Cancer: Progress and Challenges

Abstract

The last decade has witnessed enormous advances in the development and application of nanotechnology in cancer detection, diagnosis, and therapy culminating in the development of the nascent field of “cancer nanomedicine.” A nanoparticle as per the National Institutes of Health (NIH) guidelines is any material that is used in the formulation of a drug resulting in a final product smaller than 1 micron in size. Nanoparticle-based therapeutic systems have gained immense popularity due to their ability to overcome biological barriers, effectively deliver hydrophobic therapies, and preferentially target disease sites. Currently, many formulations of nanocarriers are utilized including lipid-based, polymeric and branched polymeric, metal-based, magnetic, and mesoporous silica. Innovative strategies have been employed to exploit the multicomponent, three-dimensional constructs imparting multifunctional capabilities. Engineering such designs allows simultaneous drug delivery of chemotherapeutics and anticancer gene therapies to site-specific targets. In lung cancer, nanoparticle-based therapeutics is paving the way in the diagnosis, imaging, screening, and treatment of primary and metastatic tumors. However, translating such advances from the bench to the bedside has been severely hampered by challenges encountered in the areas of pharmacology, toxicology, immunology, large-scale manufacturing, and regulatory issues. This review summarizes current progress and challenges in nanoparticle-based drug delivery systems, citing recent examples targeted at lung cancer treatment.

An Interdisciplinary Computational/Experimental Approach to Evaluate Drug-Loaded Gold Nanoparticle Tumor Cytotoxicity

“…Nanotherapy can be effective in treating solid tumors, such as lung cancer [25], due to passive targeting leveraging the EPR effect [26], active targeting to avoid systemic distribution [27] and avoidance of intrinsic cellular resistance via distinct endocytosis mechanisms (e.g., [28]). Additionally, nanoparticle surfaces can be functionalized with polymers, drugs, or other compounds to enhance targeting capabilities, bioavailability and local cytotoxicity [29].…”

Nanoparticles for the Treatment of Lung Cancers

“…Presently only two liposomal products are available in the market approved by USFDA namely (a) DOXIL for ovarian cancer and (b) Marqibo for lymphoblastic leukaemia. 24 For the management of the Non-cell lung cancer liposome formulation are very limited compared with other cancer drug formulation. The Boulikas team developed lipoplatin containing of liposome and cisplatin which drastically reduces the nephrotoxicity in rats.…”

Nanotechnology in Cancer Diagnosis and Treatment

“…By applying a vast and diverse array of nanoparticles, whose design derives from the engineering, chemistry, and medicine fields, to molecular imaging and targeted therapy, cancer nanotechnology promises solutions to several of the current obstacles facing cancer therapies [6][7][8][9][10][11][12][13].…”