Supramolecular nanoscale assemblies for cancer diagnosis and therapy

Abstract

Nanocarriers based on polymers, metals and lipids have been extensively developed for cancer therapy and diagnosis due to their ability to enhance drug accumulation in cancer cells and decrease undesired drug toxicity in healthy tissues. Overcoming multidrug resistance by designing proper drug nanocarriers will improve outcome of existing oncologic treatments such as chemotherapy or radiotherapy. In this article the relation between physicochemical properties and capacity of a nanosystem to deliver therapeutic agents into pathological sites is discussed. Most promising examples of drug delivery systems are reviewed, and, in particular, the design of a carbohydrate based matrix with entrapped gold nanoparticles is highlighted.

Non-small cell lung cancer biomarkers and targeted therapy - two faces of the same coin fostered by nanotechnology

“…AuNPs exhibit a combined feature of chemical, physical, optical, and electronic properties, which enables a simple functionalization, in order to access the tumor, and the ability to carry high drug doses. Besides that, AuNPs are easily synthetized and demonstrate a great biocompatibility as well [131,150,155,156]. MNPs have become interesting as the result of their unique magnetic properties with the ability for surface functionalization.…”

Bioabsorbable polymers in cancer therapy: latest developments

“…Additionally, due to their chemical structure, drugs also show low half-life times in the blood stream and a low bioavailability. These two facts often originate the need of higher drug dose administration, with concomitant problems related with undesired side effects [ 4 – 6 ]. In this sense, the use of drug delivery systems (DDS) can offer important “breakthroughs” in the field of chemotherapy.…”

Enhancing the efficiency of bortezomib conjugated to pegylated gold nanoparticles: an in vitro study on human pancreatic cancer cells and adenocarcinoma human lung alveolar basal epithelial cells

“…Recently, the innovation on drug nanocarriers was focused on the challenging limitations associated with multidrug resistance (MDR) and dose-toxicity [2]. The undesired effects of conventional chemotherapy and radiotherapy associated with unfavorable drug pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics fostered the design and testing of novel delivery systems for a myriad of antitumor drugs [3][4][5]. Compared to chemotherapeutic agents, nanocarriers can improve tumour specificity and intensify drug efficacy [4].…”

“…Compared to chemotherapeutic agents, nanocarriers can improve tumour specificity and intensify drug efficacy [4]. Nanovehicles can passively target solid tumours due to the enhanced permeability and retention (EPR) effect in these neoplastic tissues [2,3]. They are able to be internalized in different cell cycle phases [6].…”

“…Colloidal gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) have been extensively studied for different therapeutic applications [3,10,11]. They have been distinguished because of their optical properties as a high surface area to volume ratio exhibiting high selectivity and chemical reactivity [12][13][14].…”