Abstract
Pulmonary delivery of locally-acting drugs encapsulated in nanocarriers provides several advantages for the treatment of respiratory diseases such as asthma, chronic obstructive pulmonary diseases, cystic fibrosis, tuberculosis and lung cancer. These advantages include, among others, sustained drug delivery to the lungs, reduced therapeutic dose and improved patient compliance. The aim of this review is to give an updated overview on recent advances recorded in the last few years in this field as well as on the major challenges still existing and that remain to be overcome before any clinical application. After an outline on the cellular and extracellular barriers affecting drug delivery to the airways both in physiological and pathological conditions, the significant developments recorded using inhaled polymeric- and lipid-based nanocarriers for drug and gene delivery to the lung are presented. In this discussion, the major challenges existing in the field are evidenced including the understanding of the factors governing the mucus penetration capability of these nanocarriers and the identification of new technologies for delivering drugs to specific regions or cell types of the lungs. In this regard, the recognition of receptor expressed only at lung level may facilitate drug targeting to this organ and it should improve the therapeutic efficacy of nanocarrier-based treatments for respiratory diseases.
Keywords: Defense mechanisms, inhalation of polymeric- and lipid-based nanocarriers, lung targeting, mucus penetration, pulmonary delivery, respiratory diseases.
Current Topics in Medicinal Chemistry
Title:Nanocarriers for Respiratory Diseases Treatment: Recent Advances and Current Challenges
Volume: 14 Issue: 9
Author(s): Adriana Trapani, Sante Di Gioia, Stefano Castellani, Annalucia Carbone, Gennara Cavallaro, Giuseppe Trapani and Massimo Conese
Affiliation:
Keywords: Defense mechanisms, inhalation of polymeric- and lipid-based nanocarriers, lung targeting, mucus penetration, pulmonary delivery, respiratory diseases.
Abstract: Pulmonary delivery of locally-acting drugs encapsulated in nanocarriers provides several advantages for the treatment of respiratory diseases such as asthma, chronic obstructive pulmonary diseases, cystic fibrosis, tuberculosis and lung cancer. These advantages include, among others, sustained drug delivery to the lungs, reduced therapeutic dose and improved patient compliance. The aim of this review is to give an updated overview on recent advances recorded in the last few years in this field as well as on the major challenges still existing and that remain to be overcome before any clinical application. After an outline on the cellular and extracellular barriers affecting drug delivery to the airways both in physiological and pathological conditions, the significant developments recorded using inhaled polymeric- and lipid-based nanocarriers for drug and gene delivery to the lung are presented. In this discussion, the major challenges existing in the field are evidenced including the understanding of the factors governing the mucus penetration capability of these nanocarriers and the identification of new technologies for delivering drugs to specific regions or cell types of the lungs. In this regard, the recognition of receptor expressed only at lung level may facilitate drug targeting to this organ and it should improve the therapeutic efficacy of nanocarrier-based treatments for respiratory diseases.
Export Options
About this article
Cite this article as:
Trapani Adriana, Gioia Di Sante, Castellani Stefano, Carbone Annalucia, Cavallaro Gennara, Trapani Giuseppe and Conese Massimo, Nanocarriers for Respiratory Diseases Treatment: Recent Advances and Current Challenges, Current Topics in Medicinal Chemistry 2014; 14 (9) . https://dx.doi.org/10.2174/1568026614666140329225817
DOI https://dx.doi.org/10.2174/1568026614666140329225817 |
Print ISSN 1568-0266 |
Publisher Name Bentham Science Publisher |
Online ISSN 1873-4294 |
Call for Papers in Thematic Issues
Chemistry Based on Natural Products for Therapeutic Purposes
The development of new pharmaceuticals for a wide range of medical conditions has long relied on the identification of promising natural products (NPs). There are over sixty percent of cancer, infectious illness, and CNS disease medications that include an NP pharmacophore, according to the Food and Drug Administration. Since NP ...read more
Current Trends in Drug Discovery Based on Artificial Intelligence and Computer-Aided Drug Design
Drug development discovery has faced several challenges over the years. In fact, the evolution of classical approaches to modern methods using computational methods, or Computer-Aided Drug Design (CADD), has shown promising and essential results in any drug discovery campaign. Among these methods, molecular docking is one of the most notable ...read more
Drug Discovery in the Age of Artificial Intelligence
In the age of artificial intelligence (AI), we have witnessed a significant boom in AI techniques for drug discovery. AI techniques are increasingly integrated and accelerating the drug discovery process. These developments have not only attracted the attention of academia and industry but also raised important questions regarding the selection ...read more
From Biodiversity to Chemical Diversity: Focus of Flavonoids
Flavonoids are the largest group of polyphenols, plant secondary metabolites arising from the essential aromatic amino acid phenylalanine (or more rarely from tyrosine) via the phenylpropanoid pathway. The flavan nucleus is the basic 15-carbon skeleton of flavonoids (C6-C3-C6), which consists of two phenyl rings (A and B) and a heterocyclic ...read more
- Author Guidelines
- Graphical Abstracts
- Fabricating and Stating False Information
- Research Misconduct
- Post Publication Discussions and Corrections
- Publishing Ethics and Rectitude
- Increase Visibility of Your Article
- Archiving Policies
- Peer Review Workflow
- Order Your Article Before Print
- Promote Your Article
- Manuscript Transfer Facility
- Editorial Policies
- Allegations from Whistleblowers
- Announcements
Related Articles
-
Regulation of Innate Immunity Signaling and its Connection with Human Diseases
Current Drug Targets - Inflammation & Allergy New Trends in Thromboxane and Prostacyclin Modulators
Current Medicinal Chemistry Subject Index Volume 6
Mini-Reviews in Medicinal Chemistry In-person vs. eHealth Mindfulness-based Intervention for Adolescents with Chronic Illnesses: A Pilot Randomized Trial
Adolescent Psychiatry VEGF, Angiopoietin-1 and -2 in Bronchial Asthma: New Molecular Targets in Airway Angiogenesis and Microvascular Remodeling
Recent Patents on Inflammation & Allergy Drug Discovery Chemical Composition, Antimicrobial and Free Radical Scavenging Activities of Extracts from the Leaves of Desmodium adscendens
The Natural Products Journal Probiotics and Oral Health
Current Pharmaceutical Design The Role of Autophagy in Subarachnoid Hemorrhage: An Update
Current Neuropharmacology PPARγ: Potential Therapeutic Target for Ailments Beyond Diabetes and its Natural Agonism
Current Drug Targets Novel Anti-Platelets in Stable Coronary Artery Disease
Current Pharmaceutical Design Editorial [Hot Topic:Therapeutic Potential of Peptide Motifs - Part V (Executive Guest Editor: Jean-Claude Herve)]
Current Pharmaceutical Design Curcumin: A Dietary Phytochemical for Targeting the Phenotype and Function of Dendritic Cells
Current Medicinal Chemistry Strategies that Target Tight Junctions for Enhanced Drug Delivery
Current Pharmaceutical Design Genome-Wide Association Studies of Family Data in Pharmacogenetics: A Case Study
Current Pharmaceutical Design Influenza Antiviral Therapeutics
Recent Patents on Anti-Infective Drug Discovery Non-Ribosomal Halogenated Protease Inhibitors from Cyanobacterial Isolates as Attractive Drug Targets
Current Medicinal Chemistry Sulfation of Drug Compounds by the Zebrafish Cytosolic Sulfotransferases (SULTs)
Drug Metabolism Letters Phospholipase A2 Isoforms as Novel Targets for Prevention and Treatment of Inflammatory and Oncologic Diseases
Current Drug Targets Targeting Kinin Receptors for the Treatment of Neurological Diseases
Current Pharmaceutical Design Anti-Inflammatory Approaches that Target the Chemokine Network
Recent Patents on Inflammation & Allergy Drug Discovery