Toxicological considerations when creating nanoparticle-based drugs and drug delivery systems
- 19 November 2011
- journal article
- review article
- Published by Informa Healthcare in Expert Opinion on Drug Metabolism & Toxicology
- Vol. 8 (1), 47-69
- https://doi.org/10.1517/17425255.2012.637916
Abstract
Introduction: The biggest challenge faced by the scientific community involved in drug development is to deliver safe and effective dosage of drugs without causing systemic toxicity. Therefore, novel nano-based delivery vehicles specifically targeting tumors but not normal tissues are urgently needed. Areas covered: Nanoparticles have beneficial aspects but can be toxic themselves, which is always a concern for any drug or delivery agent. This review examines and details the toxicological aspects that should be considered when planning to use nanoparticles in animals or in man for drug delivery or imaging. Subjects discussed in this review include i) overviews of applications of various nanoparticles for drug delivery and imaging; ii) toxicological aspects to consider when selecting particular nanoparticles for use in various applications in animals or man; iii) hurdles faced when examining nanoparticle toxicity; and iv) current approaches for assessing nanoparticle toxicity. Expert opinion: Nanotechnology has significant potential for advancing therapeutic efficacy and imaging in cancer; however, these agents can be toxic. Therefore, toxicity needs to be considered when selecting nanoparticles for a particular application. Methods for assessing nanoparticle toxicity need to be improved and standardized across all nanotechnology platforms in order to speed up the application of nanoparticle use in humans.Keywords
This publication has 140 references indexed in Scilit:
- Supramolecular Stacking of Doxorubicin on Carbon Nanotubes for In Vivo Cancer TherapyAngewandte Chemie-International Edition, 2009
- Nanotoxicity assessment: all small talk?Advanced Drug Delivery Reviews, 2009
- Carbon nanotubes in biology and medicine: In vitro and in vivo detection, imaging and drug deliveryNano Research, 2009
- Nanoimmunoliposome delivery of superparamagnetic iron oxide markedly enhances targeting and uptake in human cancer cells in vitro and in vivoNanomedicine: Nanotechnology, Biology and Medicine, 2008
- Imaging of cationic multifunctional liposome-mediated delivery of COX-2 siRNACancer Gene Therapy, 2008
- Efficient Oncogene Silencing and Metastasis Inhibition via Systemic Delivery of siRNAMolecular Therapy, 2008
- Randomized trial of pegylated liposomal doxorubicin (PLD) plus carboplatin versus carboplatin in platinum-sensitive (PS) patients with recurrent epithelial ovarian or peritoneal carcinoma after failure of initial platinum-based chemotherapy (Southwest Oncology Group Protocol S0200)Gynecologic Oncology, 2008
- Bifunctional Gold Nanoshells with a Superparamagnetic Iron Oxide−Silica Core Suitable for Both MR Imaging and Photothermal TherapyThe Journal of Physical Chemistry C, 2007
- Nanoparticles: pharmacological and toxicological significanceBritish Journal of Pharmacology, 2007
- Targeted nanoparticle-aptamer bioconjugates for cancer chemotherapy in vivoProceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 2006