R.V. Northland Institute, Greater Noida, UP, India.
J Drug Target. 2013 Feb;21(2):107-25. doi: 10.3109/1061186X.2012.712130. Epub 2012 Aug 9.
Cancer has become the leading cause of death among different populations of the world. The treatment is limited to chemotherapy, radiation, and surgery. Selective targeting to the tumor cells is possible by nanoparticles-based drug delivery system. It maximizes the drug concentration at the desired target and protects the surrounding healthy tissues at the same time. To improve the targeting potential of the anticancer drugs, nanoparticles were optimized for the size and surface characteristics to enhance their circulation time and targeting efficiency. Passive targeting involves surface modification with polyethylene glycol to avoid its elimination by natural body defense mechanism. Active targeting involves chemical interaction with certain antigen, receptors, and genes which are over expressed during progression of disease. In addition, the article highlights recent developments in "smart"-stimulus-responsive-drug carriers designed to enhance the localization and efficacy of therapeutic payloads as compared with free drug. Enhanced targeting potential, imaging, and controlled release of drugs or therapeutic molecules could be possible through multi-functional nanocarrier. Such multi-faceted, versatile nanocarriers and drug delivery systems promise a substantial increase in the efficacy of diagnostic and therapeutic applications in pharmaceutical sciences.
癌症已成为世界不同人群的主要死亡原因。治疗方法仅限于化疗、放疗和手术。基于纳米粒子的药物递送系统可以实现对肿瘤细胞的选择性靶向。它可以最大限度地提高目标部位的药物浓度，同时保护周围的健康组织。为了提高抗癌药物的靶向潜力，对纳米粒子进行了优化，以改变其大小和表面特性，从而延长其循环时间并提高靶向效率。被动靶向涉及用聚乙二醇进行表面修饰，以避免其被天然身体防御机制消除。主动靶向涉及与特定抗原、受体和基因的化学相互作用，这些抗原、受体和基因在疾病进展过程中过度表达。此外，本文还重点介绍了“智能”刺激响应型药物载体的最新进展，这些载体旨在提高治疗有效载荷的定位和疗效，与游离药物相比。通过多功能纳米载体可以实现增强的靶向潜力、药物成像和药物或治疗分子的控制释放。这种多方面、多功能的纳米载体和药物递送系统有望极大地提高药物科学中诊断和治疗应用的疗效。
