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Published on: December 15, 2010
Active Targeting Strategies Using Biological Ligands for Nanoparticle Drug Delivery Systems
Jihye Yoo1,2, Changhee Park3,4, Gawon Yi5,6
1Department of Medical Life Sciences, College of Medicine, The Catholic University of Korea, 222 Banpo-daero, Seocho-gu, Seoul 06591, Korea. yooji0498@catholic.ac.kr.
Abstract:
Targeting nanoparticle (NP) carriers to sites of disease is critical for their successful use as drug delivery systems. Along with optimization of physicochemical properties, researchers have focused on surface modification of NPs with biological ligands. Such ligands can bind specific receptors on the surface of target cells. Furthermore, biological ligands can facilitate uptake of modified NPs, which is referred to as 'active targeting' of NPs. In this review, we discuss recent applications of biological ligands including proteins, polysaccharides, aptamers, peptides, and small molecules for NP-mediated drug delivery. We prioritized studies that have demonstrated targeting in animals over in vitro studies. We expect that this review will assist biomedical researchers working with NPs for drug delivery and imaging.
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