title: Multifunctional, stimuli-sensitive nanoparticulate systems for drug delivery.
abstract: The use of nanoparticulate pharmaceutical drug delivery systems (NDDSs) to enhance the in vivo effectiveness of drugs is now well established. The development of multifunctional and stimulus-sensitive NDDSs is an active area of current research. Such NDDSs can have long circulation times, target the site of the disease and enhance the intracellular delivery of a drug. This type of NDDS can also respond to local stimuli that are characteristic of the pathological site by, for example, releasing an entrapped drug or shedding a protective coating, thus facilitating the interaction between drug-loaded nanocarriers and target cells or tissues. In addition, imaging contrast moieties can be attached to these carriers to track their real-time biodistribution and accumulation in target cells or tissues. Here, I highlight recent developments with multifunctional and stimuli-sensitive NDDSs and their therapeutic potential for diseases including cancer, cardiovascular diseases and infectious diseases.
authors.affiliation: 1] Center for Pharmaceutical Biotechnology and Nanomedicine, Northeastern University, 140 The Fenway, Room 214, 360 Huntington Avenue, Boston, Massachusetts 02115, USA. [2] Faculty of Pharmacy, King Abdulaziz University, Jeddah 21589, Saudi Arabia.
authors.forename: Vladimir P
authors.initials: VP
authors.lastname: Torchilin
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D004337:Drug Carriers / Q000008:administration & dosage*; D016503:Drug Delivery Systems / Q000379:methods*; D006801:Humans; D050997:Nanomedicine / Q000379:methods; D053758:Nanoparticles / Q000008:administration & dosage*; D014018:Tissue Distribution / Q000502:physiology
chemical_list: D004337:Drug Carriers