title: Janus nanoparticles: materials, preparation and recent advances in drug delivery.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  The term Janus particles was used to describe particles that are the combination of two distinct sides with differences in chemical nature and/or polarity on each face. Due to the exponential growth of interest on multifunctional nanotechnologies, such anisotropic nanoparticles are promising tools in the field of drug delivery.
  
  
  METHODS
  The main preparation processes and the materials used have been described first. Then a specific focus has been done on therapeutic and/or diagnostic applications of Janus particles.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Janus particles are demonstrated as interesting objects with advanced properties that combine features and functionalities of different materials in one single unit. Due to their dual structure, Janus particles are promising candidates for a variety of high-quality applications dealing with drug delivery purposes. Still, the main challenges for the future lie in the development of the preparation of shape-controlled and nano-sized particles with large-scale production processes and approved pharmaceutical excipients.
authors.affiliation: UMR CNRS 8612, Institut Galien Paris-Sud Labo. Physico-chimie des Systèmes Polyphasés , 5, rue Jean-Baptiste Clément, 92296 Châtenay-Malabry cedex , France.
authors.forename: Le-Tuyet-Chau
authors.initials: LT
authors.lastname: Tran
authors.forename: Sylviane
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Lesieur
authors.forename: Vincent
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Faivre
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D016880:Anisotropy; D002626:Chemistry, Pharmaceutical; D003692:Delayed-Action Preparations; D016503:Drug Delivery Systems; D006801:Humans; D053758:Nanoparticles / Q000737:chemistry*
chemical_list: D003692:Delayed-Action Preparations
keywords: Janus particles; anisotropic nanoparticles; block copolymers; controlled release; drug delivery; self-assembly; theranostic