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Owing to the limitations of conventional therapies, there has been an increasing need for nanomedicines for real-time diagnosis and effective treatment of life-threatening diseases. Despite the conceptual and technological success achieved by researchers worldwide, the complexities of biological systems, efficient engineering and formulation of monodispersed nanomedicines, inadequate information on bio-nano interactions, issues on health hazards, clinical trials and commercialization have set new challenges in biomedical research. This review highlights how the biological membrane improves the performance of nanomedicines in drug delivery. With the list of nanomedicines getting longer gradually to overcome the drawbacks of conventional therapeutics, it is important to concentrate on the interactions between nanostructures and living systems in order to improve the biocompatibility and therapeutic efficacy of functional nanomedicines.

Objective: The label free ultrasmall fluorescent ferrite clusters have been engineered in a controlled fashion which was stabilized by serum protein and functionalized by folic acid for the application of targeted multimodal optical and Magnetic Resonance (MR) cancer imaging., Methods: The ultra-small manganese ferrite nanoclusters (PMNCs) with a diameter of 4 nm have a commendable effect on the longitudinal (T1) and transverse (T2) relaxation in MR imaging that was evident from the phantom and animal MRI., Results: The calculated longitudinal molar relaxivity of nanoclusters was found to be 6.9 ± 0.10 mM-1 S-1 which was exactly 2.22 times better than the conventional Gd-DOTA and their 4.01 ratio of the transverse (r2) and longitudinal (r1) relaxivities made them a potential candidate for both T1 and T2 contrast agents in MRI. In addition, the fluorescence-based small animal imaging showed folic acid driven accumulated fluorescent signal at the tumour site to conclude the capacity of PMNCs for targeted fluorescence imaging of cancer diagnosis., Conclusion: The cytotoxicity assay and histopathology studies were the evidence for their safe biodistribution in animal systems. Furthermore, the protein encapsulated clusters have the ability to deliver the anticancer drug Methotrexate (MTX) to the cancer tissues with a sustained manner. Therefore, one can conclude the remarkable efficacy of architect nanoclusters for theragnosis., (Copyright© Bentham Science Publishers; For any queries, please email at epub@benthamscience.net.)

In the recent times, nanomaterials are used in many sectors of science, medicine and industry, without revealing its toxic effects. Thus, it is in urgent need for exploring the toxicity along with the application of such useful nanomaterials. Nanomaterials are categorized with a particle size of 1-100 nm. They have gained increasing attention because of their novel properties, including a large specific surface area and high reaction activity. The various fundamental and practical applications of nanomaterials include drug delivery, cell imaging, and cancer therapy. Nanosized semiconductors have their versatile applications in different areas such as catalysts, sensors, photoelectronic devices, highly functional and effective devices etc. Metal oxides contribute in many areas of chemistry, physics and materials science. Mechanism of toxicity of metal oxide nanoparticles can occur by different methods like oxidative stress, co-ordination effects, non-homeostasis effects, genotoxicity and others. Factors that affect the metal oxide nanoparticles were size, dissolution and exposure routes. This chapter will explain elaborately the toxicity of metal oxide nano structures in living beings and their effect in ecosystem.

It is evident that site-specific systemic drug delivery can reduce side effects, systemic toxicity, and minimal dosage requirements predominantly by delivering drugs to particular pathological sites, cells, and even subcellular structures. The endoplasmic reticulum (ER) and associated cell organelles play a vital role in several essential cellular functions and activities, such as the synthesis of lipids, steroids, membrane-associated proteins along with intracellular transport, signaling of Ca2+, and specific response to stress. Therefore, the dysfunction of ER is correlated with numerous diseases where cancer, neurodegenerative disorders, diabetes mellitus, hepatic disorder, etc., are very common. To achieve satisfactory therapeutic results in certain diseases, it is essential to engineer delivery systems that can effectively enter the cells and target ER. Nanoparticles are highly biocompatible, contain a variety of cargos or payloads, and can be modified in a pliable manner to achieve therapeutic effectiveness at the subcellular level when delivered to specific organelles. Passive targeting drug delivery vehicles, or active targeting drug delivery systems, reduce the nonselective accumulation of drugs while reducing side effects by modifying them with small molecular compounds, antibodies, polypeptides, or isolated bio-membranes. The targeting of ER and closely associated organelles in cells using nanoparticles, however, is still unsymmetrically understood. Therefore, here we summarized the pathophysiological prospect of ER stress, involvement of ER and mitochondrial response, disease related to ER dysfunctions, essential therapeutics, and nanoenabled modulation of their delivery to optimize therapy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Ovarian cancer cells usually spread in the peritoneal region, and if chemotherapeutic drugs can be given in these regions with proximity, then the anticancer property of the chemotherapeutic drugs can enhance. However, chemotherapeutic drug administrations are hindered by local toxicity. In the drug delivery system, microparticles or nanoparticles are administered in a controlled manner. Microparticles stay in a close vicinity while nanoparticles are smaller and can move evenly in the peritoneum. Intravenous administration of the drug evenly distributes the medicine in the target places and if the composition of the drug has nanoparticles it will have more specificity and will have easy access to the cancer cells and tumors. Among the different types of nanoparticles, polymeric nanoparticles were proven as most efficient in drug delivery. Polymeric nanoparticles are seen to be combined with many other molecules like metals, non-metals, lipids, and proteins, which helps in the increase of cellular uptake. The efficiency of different types of polymeric nanoparticles used in delivering the load for management of ovarian cancer will be discussed in this mini-review. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Lung cancer is managed using conventional therapies, including chemotherapy, radiation therapy, or a combination of both. Each of these therapies has its own limitations, such as the indiscriminate killing of normal as well as cancer cells, the solubility of the chemotherapeutic drugs, rapid clearance of the drugs from circulation before reaching the tumor site, the resistance of cancer cells to radiation, and over-sensitization of normal cells to radiation. Other treatment modalities include gene therapy, immunological checkpoint inhibitors, drug repurposing, and in situ cryo-immune engineering (ICIE) strategy. Nanotechnology has come to the rescue to overcome many shortfalls of conventional therapies. Some of the nano-formulated chemotherapeutic drugs, as well as nanoparticles and nanostructures with surface modifications, have been used for effective cancer cell killing and radio sensitization, respectively. Nano-enabled drug delivery systems act as cargo to deliver the sensitizer molecules specifically to the tumor cells, thereby enabling the radiation therapy to be more effective. In this review, we have discussed the different conventional chemotherapies and radiation therapies used for inhibiting lung cancer. We have also discussed the improvement in chemotherapy and radiation sensitization using nanoparticles. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

There is significant progress in biomedical sciences to use biomaterials as a potential medium for the delivery of pharmacologically active components to diseased cells. This multidisciplinary approach has established that the therapeutic benefit is not directly proportional to the potency of drugs. It is more related to the mode of drug formulations and routes of administration. Biomaterials play a vital role in the formulations of a wide range of pharmaceutical compounds, including antibodies, peptides, drugs, enzymes, and vaccines. Most of these materials have been engineered to release therapeutics for an extended period to overcome the limitations of conventional therapies. This review has initially discussed a brief history of different biomaterials in drug delivery and the clinical needs of the same. The latter part describes the strategies to use RNA as a therapeutic molecule to stop the synthesis of disease-causing proteins that are generated by the misregulations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In consideration of the issues of drug delivery systems, the artificial vesicle structures composed of block copolymers called polymersomes recently gained considerable attention. The possibility of tuning the mechanical parameter and increasing the scale-up production of polymersomes led to its wide application in healthcare. Bearing in mind the disease condition, the structure and properties of the polymersomes could be tuned to serve the purpose. Furthermore, specific ligands can be incorporated on the vesicular surface to induce smart polymersomes, thus improving targeted delivery. The synthesis method and surface functionalization are the two key aspects that determine the versatility of biological applications as they account for stability, specific targeting, degradability, biocompatibility, and bioavailability. A perfectly aligned polymer vesicle can mimic the cells/organelles and function by avoiding cytotoxicity. This supramolecular structure can carry and deliver payloads of a wide range, including drugs, proteins, and genes, contributing to the construction of next-generation therapeutics. These aspects promote the potential use of such components as a framework to approach damaged tissue while maintaining healthy environments during circulation. Herein, this article concentrates specifically on the drug delivery applications of polymersomes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Psychiatry involves the study of behavior, mind, personality, emotions, and human thoughts, which helps in the assessment and treatment of various mental health issues. Recently, the complexity of psychiatry has increased among all other medical specialties. Major depression is considered to become the global cause of disability by 2030. Antidepressants are the primary care or treatment given to any patient. Generally, antidepressants work by balancing the neurotransmitters in the brain, which accounts for the change in mood and emotions. The major problem limiting the use and research of antidepressants is blood brain barrier (BBB). They are highly selective for the movement of ions and molecules between blood and the brain. In particular circumstances, BBB hinders the entry of these drugs to the brain, thereby decreasing the efficacy, in turn increasing the side effects. Drug molecules larger than the pore size of BBB cannot pass through them. Nanopsychiatry deals with the application of nanoparticles in designing drugs, treatments, and diagnostic tools for several neurological and psychiatric illnesses. Nanoparticles exhibit a large surface-to-volume ratio which empowers them to remain a primary part of an effective drug delivery system. Nanocarriers made up of biodegradable polymers can overcome the limitations of BBB. Other than polymers, novel surfactantbased nanocarriers are a successful carrier of the drug across the BBB. This review discusses the severity of depression and the need for novel nanoassisted drug delivery systems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]