Biomedical Engineering, Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, Ohio 44106, United States.
ACS Nano. 2011 May 24;5(5):3419-24. doi: 10.1021/nn201371a.
There are a range of definitions for nanomaterials and a range of length scales that are considered nano, but one thing is consistent among fields: nanomaterials are small and special. Nanomaterials have the potential to have tremendous impact on medical treatments. In one example, nanomaterials are permitting the tracking of cells via magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) in clinical trials to assess the efficacy and safety of cellular therapies. In a second example, nanomaterials are acting as drug delivery vehicles for the targeted delivery of therapies to increase efficacy and to reduce side effects. However, there are distinct challenges that must be considered in the development and application of these materials, including careful analysis of the distribution and clearance of nanomaterials and their potential off-target effects. By carefully assessing materials early in their development at the bench, one may be able to move successful approaches through to the clinic more rapidly, which is indeed the goal of the field. For far too many conditions and diseases, the tools we have are less than adequate, and nanomaterials have the potential to fill that void. To realize this potential, investigators must be willing to invest time and resources to develop and to translate these technologies to the point where the risk is low enough that they have real commercial possibilities. Working collaboratively and leveraging resources and experience play important roles in moving technologies through preclinical and clinical testing. It requires incredible dedication of teams of researchers, but the result is new treatments and therapies.
纳米材料有一系列的定义和一系列被认为是纳米级的长度尺度，但有一点在各个领域是一致的：纳米材料很小，很特殊。纳米材料有可能对医疗产生巨大影响。例如，纳米材料正在通过磁共振成像（MRI）追踪临床试验中的细胞，以评估细胞疗法的疗效和安全性。在另一个例子中，纳米材料作为药物输送载体，将治疗药物靶向递送至靶标，以提高疗效并减少副作用。然而，在这些材料的开发和应用中，存在着明显的挑战，包括对纳米材料的分布和清除及其潜在的脱靶效应进行仔细分析。通过在实验室早期对材料进行仔细评估，人们也许能够更快地将成功的方法推向临床，这确实是该领域的目标。对于太多的疾病和病症，我们现有的工具都不够完善，而纳米材料有可能填补这一空白。为了实现这一潜力，研究人员必须愿意投入时间和资源来开发和转化这些技术，使其风险足够低，从而具有真正的商业可能性。通过合作以及利用资源和经验，在将技术从临床前和临床试验推进到商业化方面发挥着重要作用。这需要研究团队的巨大投入，但结果是新的治疗方法和疗法。
