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Review
. 2007;2(1):19-24.
doi: 10.2147/nano.2007.2.1.19.

Nanomedicines in the treatment of chronic hepatitis C--focus on pegylated interferon alpha-2a

Thea Thomas  1 , Graham Foster
Affiliations
Review

Nanomedicines in the treatment of chronic hepatitis C--focus on pegylated interferon alpha-2a

Thea Thomas et al. Int J Nanomedicine. 2007.

Abstract

Nanotechnology is the application of nanotechnology within medicine. An illustration of this is the use of pegylation as a means of modifying naturally occurring proteins which may have clinical applications, in order to improve the pharmacodynamics of the protein resulting in an effective medication. An example of this is pegylated interferon. The purpose of this review is to examine the chemistry, clinical pharmacology, pharmacokinetics, pharmacodynamics, and clinical studies with 40 kDa pegylated interferon to illustrate the general principles of pegylated biological proteins. The use in clinical practice is reviewed along with the evidence for both efficiacy, safety, and advantages over standard interferon.

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Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Mean serum activity of standard IFN alpha-2a (▴) and 40 kDa peginterferon alpha-2a (•) after subcutaneous administration in rats. Reprinted with permission from Bailon P, Palleroni A, Schaffer CA, et al. 2001. Rational design of a potent long lasting form of interferon: a 40 kDa branched polyethylene glycol conjugated interferon alpha-2a for the treatment of hepatitis C. Bioconj Chem, 12:195–202. Copyright © 2001 American Chemical Society.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

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