From Passive Targeting to Personalized Nanomedicine: Multidimensional Insights on Nanoparticles’ Interaction with the Tumor Microenvironment

Title:From Passive Targeting to Personalized Nanomedicine: Multidimensional Insights on Nanoparticles’ Interaction with the Tumor Microenvironment

Volume: 22 Issue: 11

Author(s): Aya A. Sebak, Basma M. El-Shenawy*, Sara El-Safy and Mohamed El-Shazly*

Affiliation:

• Department of Pharmaceutical Technology, Faculty of Pharmacy and Biotechnology, German University in Cairo, Cairo,Egypt

• Department of Pharmacognosy, Faculty of Pharmacy, Ain-Shams University, Cairo,Egypt

Keywords: Passive targeting, active targeting, EPR effect, TME remodeling, personalized nanomedicine, companion diagnostics.

Abstract: Nanomedicine is revolutionizing the treatment of cancer and has achieved unprecedented outcomes over the past decades. The accumulation of Nanoparticles (NPs) in different tumors relies mainly on the Enhanced Permeability and Retention (EPR) effect benefiting from the wide fenestrae of the tumor vasculature and the lack of lymphatic drainage. However, the EPR effect is recognized as a heterogeneous phenomenon resulting in heterogeneous outcomes of clinical trials. Extensive efforts are exerted to enhance the outcomes of nanomedicine in a larger cohort of patients by employing active targeting strategies. However, actively targeted NPs accumulate in tumors by the EPR effect and hence fail to achieve convincing therapeutic outcomes. These obstacles are gradually being removed by improving the understanding of the Tumor Microenvironment (TME) and the mechanistic interaction of the NPs with its different components. In this review, we provide detailed insights into the past concerns of drug targeting, the current trends of TME reengineering, and the future implications for overcoming past hurdles. Strategies explored in this regard included the use of companion diagnostics and the modulation of the protein corona associated with the systemic administration of NPs and their interaction with biological macromolecules.

Cite this article as:

Sebak A. Aya , El-Shenawy M. Basma *, El-Safy Sara and El-Shazly Mohamed *, From Passive Targeting to Personalized Nanomedicine: Multidimensional Insights on Nanoparticles’ Interaction with the Tumor Microenvironment, Current Pharmaceutical Biotechnology 2021; 22 (11) . https://dx.doi.org/10.2174/1389201021666201211103856