title: Medical nanoparticles for next generation drug delivery to the lungs.
abstract: Respiratory diseases are an increasing burden for the ageing population. Although our understanding of these diseases has improved significantly over the past decades, diagnostic and therapeutic options for treating lung diseases, such as chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis and lung cancer, remain limited. Multidisciplinary approaches that bridge the gap between medicinal and materials sciences will likely contribute to promising new therapeutic and diagnostic solutions. One such multidisciplinary approach is the use of nanoparticles as carriers for the delivery of drugs. The advantages of using nanoparticles to deliver drugs include: increased drug concentration at the disease site; minimised drug degradation and loss; ease of creating inhalable formulations; and the possibility of specific cell targeting. This article gives a brief overview on the emerging field of nanocarriers as drug delivery vehicles for the treatment of lung diseases.
authors.affiliation: Comprehensive Pneumology Center (CPC), University Hospital, Ludwig-Maximilians University, Helmholtz Zentrum München, Member of the German Center for Lung Research (DZL), Munich, Germany sabine.vanrijt@helmholtz-muenchen.de.
authors.forename: Sabine H
authors.initials: SH
authors.lastname: van Rijt
authors.affiliation: Dept of Chemistry, Center for NanoScience (CeNS), Ludwig-Maximilians University, Munich, Germany.
authors.forename: Thomas
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Bein
authors.affiliation: Comprehensive Pneumology Center (CPC), University Hospital, Ludwig-Maximilians University, Helmholtz Zentrum München, Member of the German Center for Lung Research (DZL), Munich, Germany.
authors.forename: Silke
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Meiners
mesh_terms: D002626:Chemistry, Pharmaceutical / Q000639:trends; D004337:Drug Carriers; D016503:Drug Delivery Systems; D006801:Humans; D008168:Lung / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000503:physiopathology; D008171:Lung Diseases / Q000188:drug therapy*; D008175:Lung Neoplasms / Q000188:drug therapy; D050997:Nanomedicine / Q000379:methods*; D053758:Nanoparticles / Q000737:chemistry*; D004364:Pharmaceutical Preparations / Q000737:chemistry; D029424:Pulmonary Disease, Chronic Obstructive / Q000188:drug therapy; D013678:Technology, Pharmaceutical / Q000639:trends
chemical_list: D004337:Drug Carriers; D004364:Pharmaceutical Preparations