Department of Bioengineering, Rice University, 6500 Main St., Houston, TX 77030, USA.
Nanomedicine (Lond). 2011 Jul;6(5):815-35. doi: 10.2217/nnm.11.79.
Nanoparticles have potential applications in diagnostics, imaging, gene and drug delivery and other types of therapy. Iron oxide nanoparticles, gold nanoparticles and quantum dots have all generated substantial interest and their properties and applications have been thoroughly studied. Yet, metal-containing particles raise biodistribution and toxicity concerns because they can be quickly cleared from the blood by the reticuloendothelial system and can remain in organs, such as the liver and spleen, for prolonged periods of time. Design considerations, such as size, shape, surface coating and dosing, can be manipulated to prolong blood circulation and enhance treatment efficacy, but nonspecific distribution has thus far been unavoidable. Renal excretion of nanoparticles is possible and is size dependent, but the need to incorporate coatings to particles for increased circulation can hinder such excretion. Further long-term studies are needed because recent work has shown varying degrees of in vivo toxicity as well as varying levels of nanoparticle excretion over time. The interaction of these particles with immune cells and their effect on the innate and adaptive immune response also needs further characterization. Finally, more systematic in vitro approaches are needed to both guide in vivo work and better correlate nanoparticle properties to their biological effects.
纳米粒子在诊断、成像、基因和药物传递以及其他类型的治疗中有潜在的应用。氧化铁纳米粒子、金纳米粒子和量子点都引起了广泛的关注，它们的性质和应用已经得到了深入的研究。然而，含金属的颗粒会引起生物分布和毒性的担忧，因为它们可以被网状内皮系统迅速从血液中清除，并在肝脏和脾脏等器官中长时间存在。设计考虑因素，如大小、形状、表面涂层和剂量，可以被操纵来延长血液循环并增强治疗效果，但迄今为止，非特异性分布是不可避免的。纳米粒子的肾排泄是可能的，并且依赖于尺寸，但为了增加循环而对颗粒进行涂层的需要可能会阻碍这种排泄。由于最近的工作显示出不同程度的体内毒性以及随着时间的推移纳米颗粒排泄的不同水平，因此需要进一步的长期研究。这些颗粒与免疫细胞的相互作用及其对固有和适应性免疫反应的影响也需要进一步的表征。最后，需要更系统的体外方法来指导体内工作，并更好地将纳米颗粒的特性与其生物学效应相关联。
