Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2019 Nov 29:10:1369.
doi: 10.3389/fphar.2019.01369. eCollection 2019.

Recalcitrant Issues and New Frontiers in Nano-Pharmacology

Vinay Bhardwaj  1 , Ajeet Kaushik  2 , Ziad M Khatib  3 , Madhavan Nair  4 , Anthony J McGoron  5
Affiliations

Recalcitrant Issues and New Frontiers in Nano-Pharmacology

Vinay Bhardwaj et al. Front Pharmacol. .

Abstract

Packaging of old pharma drugs into new packaging "nanoparticles" is called nano-pharmacology and the products are called nano-based drugs. The inception of nano-pharmacology research and development (R&D) is marked by the approval of the first nano-based drug Doxil® in 1995 by the Food and Drug Administration. However, even after more than two decades, today, there are only ∼20 nano-based drugs in the market to treat cancers and brain diseases. In this article we share the perspectives of nanotechnology scientists, engineers, and clinicians on the roadblocks in nano-pharmacology R&D. Also, we share our opinion on new frontiers in the field of nano-pharmacology R&D that may allow rapid and efficient transfer of nano-pharma technologies from R&D to market.

Keywords: Doxil; nano-based drugs; nanomedicine; nanoparticles; research and development; theranostics.

PubMed Disclaimer

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Examples of some of the most promising nano-materials used in clinical nano-pharmacology and/or image-guided nano-pharmacology research and development. Liposomes, micelles, and polymers are the most common nanomaterials in commercial nano-based drugs (>80% of the products). Metals nanoparticles like magnetic, magneto-electric, lanthanides, quantum-dots, and gold are most promising agents for multi-functional properties to achieve image-guided drug delivery.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Akhtar A. (2015). The flaws and human harms of animal experimentation. Cambridge Qual. Healthcare Ethics 24 (4), 407–419. 10.1017/S0963180115000079 - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Ashton S., Song Y. H., Nolan J., Cadogan E., Murray J., Odedra R., et al. (2016). Aurora kinase inhibitor nanoparticles targets tumors with favorable therapeutic index in vivo . Sci. Transl. Med. 8 (325), 325ra17. 10.1126/scitranslmed.aad2355 - DOI - PubMed
    1. Autio K. A., Garcia J. A., Alva A. S., Hart L. L., Milowsky M. I., Posadas E. M., et al. (2017). A phase 2 study of BIND-014 (PSMA-targeted docetaxel nanoparticle) administered to patients with chemotherapy-naïve metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer (mCRPC). J. Clin. Oncol. 34 (2), 233–233. 10.1200/jco.2016.34.2_suppl.233 - DOI
    1. Barenholz Y. (2012). DOXIL - The first FDA-approved nano-drug: lessons learned. J. Controlled Release 160 (2), 117–134. 10.1016/j.jconrel.2012.03.020 - DOI - PubMed
    1. Barenholz Y. (2012). DOXIL: The first FDA-approved nano drug: from an idea to product: in peer D., ed., handbook of harnessing biomaterials in Nanomedicine (Ltd. Singapore: Pan Standford Publishing Pte; ), 335–398. 10.1201/b11620-13 - DOI

LinkOut - more resources