title: Drug delivery to macrophages: Challenges and opportunities.
abstract: Macrophages are prevalent in the body and have roles in almost every aspect of human biology. They have often been considered a subject to avoid during drug delivery. However, with recent understanding of their diverse functions in diseases, macrophages have gained increasing interest as important therapeutic targets. To develop drug carriers to macrophages, it is important to understand their biological roles and requirements for efficient targeting. This review provides an overview of representative carriers and various approaches to address challenges in drug delivery to macrophages such as biodistribution, cellular uptake, intracellular trafficking, and drug release.
authors.affiliation: Department of Industrial and Physical Pharmacy, Purdue University, 575 Stadium Mall Drive, West Lafayette, IN 47907, United States.
authors.forename: Yihua
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Pei
authors.affiliation: Department of Industrial and Physical Pharmacy, Purdue University, 575 Stadium Mall Drive, West Lafayette, IN 47907, United States; Weldon School of Biomedical Engineering, Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN 47907, United States. Electronic address: yyeo@purdue.edu.
authors.forename: Yoon
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Yeo
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D016503:Drug Delivery Systems / Q000379:methods*; D006801:Humans; D007424:Intracellular Fluid / Q000187:drug effects / Q000378:metabolism; D008264:Macrophages / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000378:metabolism; D010316:Particle Size; D004364:Pharmaceutical Preparations / Q000008:administration & dosage* / Q000378:metabolism; D014018:Tissue Distribution / Q000187:drug effects / Q000502:physiology
chemical_list: D004364:Pharmaceutical Preparations
keywords: Intracellular drug delivery; Intracellular infection; Macrophages; Targeted delivery; Tumor-associated macrophages