One-component nanomedicine

Hao Su; Jin Mo Koo; Honggang Cui

doi:10.1016/j.jconrel.2015.09.056

One-component nanomedicine

J Control Release. 2015 Dec 10:219:383-395. doi: 10.1016/j.jconrel.2015.09.056. Epub 2015 Sep 28.

Authors

Hao Su¹, Jin Mo Koo², Honggang Cui³

Affiliations

¹ Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, The Johns Hopkins University, 3400 N Charles Street, Baltimore, MD 21218, USA; Institute for NanoBioTechnology, The Johns Hopkins University, 3400 N Charles Street, Baltimore, MD 21218, USA.
² Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, The Johns Hopkins University, 3400 N Charles Street, Baltimore, MD 21218, USA.
³ Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, The Johns Hopkins University, 3400 N Charles Street, Baltimore, MD 21218, USA; Institute for NanoBioTechnology, The Johns Hopkins University, 3400 N Charles Street, Baltimore, MD 21218, USA; Department of Oncology and Sidney Kimmel Comprehensive Cancer Center, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD 21205, USA; Center for Nanomedicine, The Wilmer Eye Institute, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, 400 North Broadway, Baltimore, MD 21231, USA. Electronic address: hcui6@jhu.edu.

Abstract

One-component nanomedicine (OCN) represents an emerging class of therapeutic nanostructures that contain only one type of chemical substance. This one-component feature allows for fine-tuning and optimization of the drug loading and physicochemical properties of nanomedicine in a precise manner through molecular engineering of the underlying building blocks. Using a precipitation procedure or effective molecular assembly strategies, molecularly crafted therapeutic agents (e.g. polymer-drug conjugates, small molecule prodrugs, or drug amphiphiles) could involuntarily aggregate, or self-assemble into nanoscale objects of well-defined sizes and shapes. Unlike traditional carrier-based nanomedicines that are inherently multicomponent systems, an OCN does not require the use of additional carriers and could itself possess desired physicochemical features for preferential accumulation at target sites. We review here recent progress in the molecular design, conjugation methods, and fabrication strategies of OCN, and analyze the opportunities that this emerging platform could open for the new and improved treatment of devastating diseases such as cancer.

Keywords: Drug delivery; Nanomedicine.

Publication types

Research Support, N.I.H., Extramural
Research Support, U.S. Gov't, Non-P.H.S.
Review

MeSH terms

Animals
Drug Delivery Systems*
Nanomedicine
Nanostructures / therapeutic use*

Abstract

Publication types

MeSH terms

Grants and funding