About this Research Topic
The application of nanotechnology in nuclear medicine offers attractive diagnostic and therapeutic opportunities for the management of various diseases, including cancer. Radiolabeled nanoparticles represent a novel class of radiopharmaceutical agents with great potential, capitalizing on the increased surface area-to-volume ratio, the passive/active targeting ability and high loading capacity, the greater interaction cross section with biological tissues, the rich surface properties of nanomaterials, the facile decoration of nanomaterials with a plethora of functionalities, and the potential for multiplexing several functionalities within one construct (multimodal imaging, combination therapies, or a mixture of both for theranostics). The coupling of nuclear medicine with the intrinsic advantages of nanoparticles holds the potential for providing new and innovative medical solutions to address unmet medical needs.
This Research Topic seeks to provide an overview of nanotargeted radiopharmaceuticals, up-to-date research, current status of applications, advantages, limitations and future prospects and challenges. Nanoparticles are sufficiently small to diffuse through the endothelial cell layers and interact with the cell structures of various tissues, but also large enough to transport high payloads of one or several therapeutic or diagnostic agents (i.e. radionuclides). They can be engineered to have different sizes, morphologies, chemical compositions, surface chemical characteristics, and hollow or solid structures and have tunable physical and biologic properties. Most of the organic and inorganic nanocarriers are notably amenable to chemical conjugation for radiolabeling through either direct methods or chelation. Research on the combination of different radionuclides or radiopharmaceuticals with passively or actively targeted nanoparticles offers the possibility to increase personalized diagnostic efficacy and radiotherapeutic index. Nevertheless, further efforts and challenges in preclinical and clinical efficiency and toxicity studies are essential to translate those advanced new technologies to the clinical applications for the healthcare benefit of the patients.
This Research Topic welcomes submissions dealing with recent progresses in the field of nanomedicine and radiopharmaceuticals, with new approaches to the design and formulation of innovative radiolabeled nanoconstructs and their applications. Original research, as well as review articles, on the use of nanomaterials for receptor-specific tumor targeting, radionuclide encapsulation, multimodality imaging, and/or multifunctional approach for cancer theranostics, as well as radiotoxicology/nanotoxicology, clinical research and regulatory issues are encouraged.
This Research Topic seeks to provide an overview of nanotargeted radiopharmaceuticals, up-to-date research, current status of applications, advantages, limitations and future prospects and challenges. Nanoparticles are sufficiently small to diffuse through the endothelial cell layers and interact with the cell structures of various tissues, but also large enough to transport high payloads of one or several therapeutic or diagnostic agents (i.e. radionuclides). They can be engineered to have different sizes, morphologies, chemical compositions, surface chemical characteristics, and hollow or solid structures and have tunable physical and biologic properties. Most of the organic and inorganic nanocarriers are notably amenable to chemical conjugation for radiolabeling through either direct methods or chelation. Research on the combination of different radionuclides or radiopharmaceuticals with passively or actively targeted nanoparticles offers the possibility to increase personalized diagnostic efficacy and radiotherapeutic index. Nevertheless, further efforts and challenges in preclinical and clinical efficiency and toxicity studies are essential to translate those advanced new technologies to the clinical applications for the healthcare benefit of the patients.
This Research Topic welcomes submissions dealing with recent progresses in the field of nanomedicine and radiopharmaceuticals, with new approaches to the design and formulation of innovative radiolabeled nanoconstructs and their applications. Original research, as well as review articles, on the use of nanomaterials for receptor-specific tumor targeting, radionuclide encapsulation, multimodality imaging, and/or multifunctional approach for cancer theranostics, as well as radiotoxicology/nanotoxicology, clinical research and regulatory issues are encouraged.
Keywords: Drug delivery, molecular imaging, multimodality, nanomedicine, nuclear medicine, radiolabeled nanomaterials, radionuclide therapy, radiopharmaceuticals, theranostics
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