Clinical trials for deadly pancreatic cancer have recently opened on two continents to evaluate the safety and efficacy of engineered nanoparticles guided by a targeted delivery system (TDS) to overcome the daunting barriers of turbulence, dilution, filtration, and inactivation encountered in the human circulatory system to deliver a killing designer gene to metastatic tumors that are refractory to conventional chemotherapy. The first patients receiving multiple intravenous infusions of the TDS-encapsulated genetic bullets have all responded favorably, prompting the FDA to grant orphan drug status for the nanobiotic medicine, Rexin-G, to assist in the development of this new cancer treatment. This review/commentary is an effort to translate the arcane terminology of physiology, biochemistry, and molecular genetics into the more generally accessible language of nanotechnology and medical delivery. While the text is somewhat erudite and laden at times with inconspicuous literary allusions, descriptions of the elegant bioengineering of nano-scale gene delivery vehicles are clear and the numerous references to classical mechanics of the Industrial Age are helpful.
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