Targeted nanotherapeutics in cancer

Editor’s choice: recent research highlights from the International Journal of Nanomedicine

“…These newly emerging approaches ideally seek to completely eliminate highly complex tumor tissues, that have, thus far, been resistant to available therapies, not only by the elimination of every malignant cell type but essentially by confronting cancer at different molecular levels or pathways involving tumor cell growth, migration, and invasion, at all possible targets in the most effective manner. 17 In the 2020s, 1,18 nanomedicine will most likely see continued growth in the discovery and development of new combination therapeutic approaches with regard to the existing drugs, targeting multiple genetic pathways and attacking specific attributes of each disease using multidrug delivery devices. However, the future of oncology -and the opportunity to eliminate the suffering and death due to cancer -will absolutely depend on our ability to confront cancer at its molecular level.…”

Research highlights from the International Journal of Nanomedicine 2014

“…However, the long anticipated development of drug delivery is a hallmark of advancing nanomedicine, as a variety of sophisticated strategies are being investigated for engineering advanced novel delivery platforms [9][10][11] in order to address many confounding drug delivery limitations that remain to be resolved by other conventional methods. In a recent issue of International Journal of Nanomedicine, Song et al 12 investigated the encapsulation of a protein 'insulin' in greater detail using a size-tunable nanolayer combination of polyethylene glycol (PEG) with chitosan, a cationic naturally occurring polysaccharide, without creating a new chemical entity that often interferes with drug activity.…”

Detection of a fluorescent-labeled avidin-nucleic acid nanoassembly by confocal laser endomicroscopy in the microvasculature of chronically inflamed intestinal mucosa

“…17 These findings paved the way for further exploitation of this nanoparticle tool for in vivo diagnostics and delivery applications. 18 The ANANAS platform is especially interesting because it also meets the current need for convenient and reproducible preparation methods for multifunctional nanocarriers. 19 Multifunctionality in nanoparticles, while offering great potential for targeted treatments, significantly increases the complexity of preparation methods.…”