Tyndall National Institute, University College Cork, Cork, Ireland.
Cell Mol Life Sci. 2012 Feb;69(3):389-404. doi: 10.1007/s00018-011-0856-6. Epub 2011 Oct 21.
Nanoparticles (NPs) comprised of nanoengineered complexes are providing new opportunities for enabling targeted delivery of a range of therapeutics and combinations. A range of functionalities can be included within a nanoparticle complex, including surface chemistry that allows attachment of cell-specific ligands for targeted delivery, surface coatings to increase circulation times for enhanced bioavailability, specific materials on the surface or in the nanoparticle core that enable storage of a therapeutic cargo until the target site is reached, and materials sensitive to local or remote actuation cues that allow controlled delivery of therapeutics to the target cells. However, despite the potential benefits of NPs as smart drug delivery and diagnostic systems, much research is still required to evaluate potential toxicity issues related to the chemical properties of NP materials, as well as their size and shape. The need to validate each NP for safety and efficacy with each therapeutic compound or combination of therapeutics is an enormous challenge, which forces industry to focus mainly on those nanoparticle materials where data on safety and efficacy already exists, i.e., predominantly polymer NPs. However, the enhanced functionality affordable by inclusion of metallic materials as part of nanoengineered particles provides a wealth of new opportunity for innovation and new, more effective, and safer therapeutics for applications such as cancer and cardiovascular diseases, which require selective targeting of the therapeutic to maximize effectiveness while avoiding adverse effects on non-target tissues.
纳米粒子（NPs）由纳米工程复合物组成，为实现一系列治疗药物和组合的靶向递送提供了新的机会。纳米粒子复合物可以包含多种功能，包括允许连接针对特定目标的细胞特异性配体的表面化学、提高生物利用度的循环时间的表面涂层、表面或纳米粒子核心中允许治疗货物储存直到到达目标部位的特定材料、以及对局部或远程触发信号敏感的材料，这些材料可以允许将治疗药物受控递送到目标细胞。然而，尽管 NPs 作为智能药物递送和诊断系统具有潜在的益处，但仍需要进行大量研究来评估与 NP 材料的化学性质以及其大小和形状相关的潜在毒性问题。需要对每种治疗化合物或治疗组合的每种 NP 进行安全性和功效验证，这是一个巨大的挑战，迫使行业主要关注那些已经存在安全性和功效数据的纳米粒子材料，即主要是聚合物 NPs。然而，通过将金属材料纳入纳米工程颗粒作为一部分，所提供的增强功能为创新提供了丰富的新机会，以及针对癌症和心血管疾病等应用的更有效和更安全的治疗方法，这些应用需要将治疗药物选择性靶向以最大限度地提高疗效，同时避免对非目标组织的不良反应。
