Review abstract


Nature Nanotechnology 2, 751 - 760 (2007)
doi:10.1038/nnano.2007.387

Subject Categories: Nanomedicine | Nanobiotechnology

Nanocarriers as an emerging platform for cancer therapy

Dan Peer1,7, Jeffrey M. Karp2,3,7, Seungpyo Hong4,7, Omid C. Farokhzad5, Rimona Margalit6 & Robert Langer3,4


Nanotechnology has the potential to revolutionize cancer diagnosis and therapy. Advances in protein engineering and materials science have contributed to novel nanoscale targeting approaches that may bring new hope to cancer patients. Several therapeutic nanocarriers have been approved for clinical use. However, to date, there are only a few clinically approved nanocarriers that incorporate molecules to selectively bind and target cancer cells. This review examines some of the approved formulations and discusses the challenges in translating basic research to the clinic. We detail the arsenal of nanocarriers and molecules available for selective tumour targeting, and emphasize the challenges in cancer treatment.

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  1. Immune Disease Institute and Department of Anesthesia, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts 02115, USA
  2. HST Center for Biomedical Engineering, Department of Medicine, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02139, USA
  3. Harvard-MIT Division of Health Sciences and Technology, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02139, USA
  4. Department of Chemical Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02139, USA
  5. Laboratory of Nanomedicine and Biomaterials and Department of Anesthesiology, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts 02115, USA
  6. Department of Biochemistry, George S. Wise Faculty of Life Sciences, and the Center for Nanoscience and Nanotechnology, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv, 69978, Israel
  7. These authors contributed equally to this review

Correspondence to: Robert Langer3,4 e-mail: rlanger@mit.edu



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