Blood circulation is the key parameter that determines the in vivo efficiency of nanoagents. Despite clinical success of the stealth liposomal agents with their inert and shielded surfaces, a great number of non-stealth nanomaterials is being developed due to their potential of enhanced functionality. By harnessing surface phenomena, such agents can offer advanced control over drug release through intricately designed nanopores, catalysis-propelled motion, computer-like analysis of several disease markers for precise target identification, etc.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe rapid elimination of nanoparticles from the bloodstream by the mononuclear phagocyte system limits the activity of many nanoparticle formulations. Here, we show that inducing a slight and transient depletion of erythrocytes in mice (~5% decrease in haematocrit) by administrating a low dose (1.25 mg kg) of allogeneic anti-erythrocyte antibodies increases the circulation half-life of a range of short-circulating and long-circulating nanoparticle formulations by up to 32-fold.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFNanoparticles (NPs) that can provide additional functionality to the nanoagents derived from them, , cytotoxicity or imaging abilities, are in high demand in modern nanotechnology. Here, we report new spindle-like iron oxide nanoparticles doped with Eu that feature magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) contrasting properties together with shape-related cytotoxicity (unusual for such low 2.4% Eu content).
View Article and Find Full Text PDFNanosized metal-organic frameworks (nMOFs) have shown great promise as high-capacity carriers for a variety of applications. For biomedicine, numerous nMOFs have been proposed that can transport virtually any molecular drug, can finely tune their payload release profile, etc. However, perspectives of their applications for the targeted drug delivery remain relatively unclear.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Theranostics, a fusion of two key parts of modern medicine - diagnostics and therapy of the organism's disorders, promises to bring the efficacy of medical treatment to a fundamentally new level and to become the basis of personalized medicine. Extrapolating today's progress in the field of smart materials to the long-run prospect, we can imagine future intelligent agents capable of performing complex analysis of different physiological factors inside the living organism and implementing a built-in program thereby triggering a series of therapeutic actions. These agents, by analogy with their macroscopic counterparts, can be called nanorobots.
View Article and Find Full Text PDF