Elsevier

Biomolecular Engineering

Volume 23, Issue 4, September 2006, Pages 171-184
Biomolecular Engineering

Review
The pinpoint promise of nanoparticle-based drug delivery and molecular diagnosis

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.bioeng.2006.05.026Get rights and content

Abstract

Nanotechnology, or systems/device manufacture at the molecular level, is a multidisciplinary scientific field undergoing explosive development. The genesis of nanotechnology can be traced to the promise of revolutionary advances across medicine, communications, genomics and robotics. Without doubt one of the greatest values of nanotechnology will be in the development of new and effective medical treatments (i.e., nanomedicine). This review focuses on the potential of nanomedicine as it specifically relates to (1) the development of nanoparticles for enabling and improving the targeted delivery of therapeutic agents; (2) developing novel and more effective diagnostic and screening techniques to extend the limits of molecular diagnostics providing point-of-care diagnosis and more personalized medicine.

Section snippets

Introduction to nanomedicine

Richard Feynman articulated the conceptual underpinnings of nanotechnology in 1959 in his lecture “There's plenty of room at the bottom” in which he outlined the principle of manipulating individual atoms using larger machines to manufacture increasingly smaller machines (Feynman, 1959). Nanotechnology (derived from the Greek word nano meaning dwarf) as we currently know it is a burgeoning, multidisciplinary scientific field that applies engineering and manufacturing principles at a molecular

The need for innovative nanotechnology based drug targeting

Research into the delivery and targeting of therapeutic and diagnostic agents with nanoparticles is at the forefront of nanomedicine for several reasons (see Table 3, Table 4). First, traditional oral or injectable drugs are not necessarily the most efficient formulations for a given product. This is particularly true for new biologics such as proteins and nucleic acids that require novel delivery technologies to optimize efficacy, minimize side effects and lead to better patient compliance.

Clearance mechanisms and nanoparticle targeting

Understanding how the human body clears particles is essential to developing effective nanoparticle-based delivery and diagnostic systems (Labhasetwar, 2005, Panyam and Labhasetwar, 2003). The body distributes nutrients, clears waste, and distributes systemically administered drugs via the vascular and lymphatic systems. At first glance this intricate system seems to preclude any chance of specific, compartmentalized drug targeting. Intravenously injected particles are scavenged and cleared

Drug delivery

In the last decade nanotechnology and nanofabrication have significantly impacted the field of drug delivery (Emerich and Thanos, 2003). Techniques have shifted from microfabrication and micromachining (e.g. the osmotic pump) to designs ranging from secondary constructs on the nanometer level (e.g. microspheres). The engineering of nano-delivery systems for small molecules, proteins, and DNA has led to the development of entirely new and previously unpredicted fields. Formulation science has

Targeting the tumor endothelium

The concept of targeting drugs/biologics to blood vessels of tumors is intuitively appealing (Moghimi et al., 2005). Ultimately, nanoparticulate technologies may be able to aid in the early detection and treatment of metastatic cancers or in the treatment and diagnosis or drug resistant tumors. Currently, though the most immediate impact of nanoparticle-based delivery is in the localized treatment of solid tumors. Molecular biology is unveiling potential targets within the vasculature of tumors

Nanoparticles for diagnostic and screening purposes

Nanoparticle-based molecular detection is focused on developing multiplexed molecular recognition using re-configurable arrays and developing novel label-free ways to register and quantify a specific binding event through electrochemical or electronic measurements (Rosi and Mirkin, 2005). One of the first applications of nanoparticle technology is improved fluorescent markers. While fluorescent markers are routinely used in basic research and clinical diagnostic applications, there are several

Conclusion

The multidisciplinary field of nanotechnology is making the science of the almost incomprehensibly small device closer and closer to reality. The effects of these developments will, at some point, be so vast that they will likely affect virtually all fields of science and technology. As such, nanotechnology holds the promise of delivering the greatest technological breakthroughs in history. Here, several developments in the use of nanoparticles for drug delivery and diagnostics are presented.

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