Title:The Ins and Outs of Nanoparticle Technology in Neurodegenerative Diseases and Cancer
VOLUME: 16 ISSUE: 8
Author(s):Cornelia M. Wilson, Amandine Magnaudeix, Thomas Naves, François Vincent, Fabrice Lalloue and Marie-Odile Jauberteau
Affiliation:EA3842 Homeostasie cellulaire et pathologies and Chaire d'Excellence pneumologie experimentale, Universite de Limoges, Faculte de Medecine, 2 rue du Dr Raymond Marcland, University of Limoges, 87025 Limoges CEDEX–France.
Keywords:Alzheimer’s disease, cancer, nanoparticle, nanovesicle, neurodegenerative diseases, therapy.
Abstract:As we enter the twenty-first century, several therapies based on using nanoparticles (NPs) ranging in
size 1 – 1000 nm have been successfully brought to the clinic to treat cancer, pain and infectious diseases. These
therapies bring together the ability of NPs to target the delivery of drugs more precisely, to improve solubility, to
prevent degradation, to improve their therapeutic index and to reduce the immune response. NPs come in all shapes
and sizes, designed specifically for biomedical applications such as solid lipid polymers, liposomes, dendrimers,
nanogels, and quantum dots. These NPs offer many attractive characteristics such as biological stability and biocompatibility, thus incorporating
different biological or drug molecules. Among the major therapeutic challenges from neurological diseases through to cancer
is the development of nanomaterials that are able to be effective against the disease. In the case of neurodegeneration, one of the most
difficult areas to penetrate for drug discovery in the body is the central nervous system, protected by the blood-brain-barrier. Whilst in the
case of cancer, the biggest problem is how to specifically target a tumor with sufficient drug without causing side effects or inducing resistance.
A new generation of intelligent NPs are emerging for the treatment of human disease such as neurological disorders and cancer.
The use of natural alternative therapy is an encouraging idea in drug discovery. To this end as we gain more knowledge into the biological
function of exosomes, this will allow us to harness their potential as natural NPs in future therapeutics.
