Title:Anticancer Drugs in Liposomal Nanodevices: A Target Delivery for a Targeted Therapy
VOLUME: 12 ISSUE: 15
Author(s):Giorgia Urbinati, Veronique Marsaud and Jack-Michel Renoir
Affiliation:UMR CNRS 8203 Vectorology and anti-cancer therapeutics, Institut Gustave Roussy, 114, Rue E. Vaillant, 94805 VILLEJUIF CEDEX, France.
Keywords:Cancer, EPR effect, immunoliposomes, lipid nanocarriers, pharmacokinetics, targeted delivery
Abstract:For many years, nanocarriers have been investigated to modify pharmacokinetics and biodistribution of various
active molecules. In the cancer domain, one of the biggest challenges still remains the improvement of the therapeutic index,
often too low, for the majority of antitumor drugs. The application of nanotechnologies for the treatment and the diagnosis
of cancers are nowadays currently developed, or under development, and liposomes play an important role in the
history of nanodevices. Because of their high degree of biocompatibility, lipid nanosystems have been used to improve
pharmacological profiles of various anticancer drugs otherwise discarded because of their low water solubility, poor
bioavailability or either fragile and subjected to rapid biotransformations. This review aims at introducing an overview of
the last 40 years of liposome researches until the last liposomal formulations commercially available or undergoing clinical
trials. Liposome properties will be described, with a particular emphasis over the last generation of carriers appreciated
for their active targeting characteristics. Researchers foresee a remarkable impact of nanotechnologies in the field of
medicine; this review will try to summarize the main concepts over liposome domain, which can count on encouraging results
as target therapy associated with targeted delivery.
