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Barriers to drug delivery in solid tumors

Shravan Kumar Sriraman1, Bhawani Aryasomayajula1, Vladimir P Torchilin1

  • 1Center for Pharmaceutical Biotechnology and Nanomedicine; Northeastern University; Boston, MA USA.

Tissue Barriers
|July 29, 2014
PubMed

Insights

Engineered nanoparticles improve drug delivery by overcoming solubility and pharmacokinetic issues. This review explores overcoming biological barriers for targeted cancer nanomedicine, aiming for better therapeutic outcomes.

Area of Science:

  • Biomedical Engineering
  • Nanotechnology
  • Pharmacology

Background:

  • Significant advancements in drug delivery have been achieved using engineered nanoparticles, addressing limitations like pharmacokinetics and solubility.
  • Despite progress in tumor targeting, effective treatment strategies for malignant tumors remain challenging due to distinct tumor physiology and biological system complexity.
  • Site-specific delivery of therapeutic drugs faces hurdles from these physiological and biological complexities.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To provide a comprehensive understanding of biological barriers in drug delivery.
  • To outline methods for exploiting nanoparticle characteristics to overcome these barriers.
  • To guide the design of multifunctional nanocarriers for improved therapeutic outcomes.

Main Methods:

  • Review of current literature on nanoparticle drug delivery systems.
  • Analysis of biological barriers encountered in tumor targeting.
  • Exploration of strategies for designing multifunctional nanocarriers.
  • Discussion of dosing regimens for enhanced efficacy.

Main Results:

  • Engineered nanoparticles offer tailored functionalities to circumvent drug delivery limitations.
  • Understanding and exploiting biological barriers is crucial for effective nanocarrier design.
  • Multifunctional nanocarriers can be designed to improve drug targeting and therapeutic efficacy.
  • Optimized dosing regimens are essential for successful clinical translation.

Conclusions:

  • Nanoparticle engineering provides a powerful platform for advancing drug delivery.
  • Overcoming biological barriers is key to realizing the full potential of nanomedicine in oncology.
  • Multifunctional nanocarriers and optimized dosing regimens promise improved clinical outcomes for cancer treatment.
Keywords:
EPRMPSbiological barrierscancerdrug deliverymultifunctional nanoparticlesnanoparticletumors

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