Biomedical Engineering Reference
In-Depth Information
Approaches to Achieving Sub-cellular
Targeting of Bioactives Using Pharmaceutical
Nanocarriers
Melani Solomon and Gerard G.M. D'Souza
Abstract It is well accepted that the ability of a biologically molecule to selec-
tively find its target influences its potential as a successful therapeutic drug. For
many molecules the molecular target is located inside sub-cellular structures.
Molecules with such sub cellular targets and the inability to specifically accumu-
late at the location of the target can potentially be made more active by targeting
strategies that improve their accumulation at the target. Pharmaceutical nanocarri-
ers form the basis of several such targeting strategies. This chapter deals with the
rational approach underlying the current uses of nanocarriers to deliver bioactive
molecules to sub cellular compartments.
Keywords Nanocarrier • Targeting • Sub-cellular • Organelle-specific
1
Introduction
Drug therapy at the most fundamental level is based on the interaction of two
molecules. An exogenous molecule administered to a patient and the molecule in
the patient that the administered molecule interacts with to initiate a physiological
response. In an ideal scenario, the administered molecule interacts with only one
physiological molecule and produces a physiological response that improves a
patient's condition. In this context it is clear that the term target may be applied to
the physiological molecule and the administered molecule is a drug. The concept
of targeting has multiple definitions. From a drug discovery perspective, targeting
is very often described in terms of the drug molecule's ability to interact only with
the target. This concept is more appropriately described by the use of the term
M. Solomon and G.G.M. D'Souza ( * )
Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Massachusetts College of Pharmacy
and Health Sciences, 179 Longwood Ave, Boston, MA 02115, USA
e-mail: gerard.dsouza@mcphs.edu
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