Nanoparticle Drug Delivery
Nanoparticle drug delivery uses carriers such as polymeric particles, liposomes and other lipid formulations, metallic particles and extracellular vesicles to transport drugs, nucleic acids, antigens or imaging agents to target tissues and cells. In cancer, carriers are designed for tumor accumulation, controlled release and uptake by specific cell populations, including immune cells such as macrophages, and are often combined with imaging or physical therapies.
Themes in macrophage-targeting cancer nanomedicine (2024)
A topic model of 854 abstracts on nanoparticles targeting tumor associated macrophages separated the field into themes with distinct carriers and cargoes (Brown et al. 2024): TAM repolarization with cytokines, microRNA or small molecules; formulation studies dominated by polymeric carriers (PLGA, PEG, PLA, chitosan) loaded with paclitaxel, docetaxel or doxorubicin; metallic (iron, gold) particles for MRI imaging and theranostics, often mannose-conjugated; extracellular vesicles and membrane-coated particles for biologics delivery; liposomal vaccines with CpG adjuvants; and multi-modal photothermal, photodynamic or magnetic therapies. Summary: brown2024.