Applications of Nanobiotechnology in Pharmacology

Nanobiotechnology, which is greatly concerned with the construction and application of various nanomaterials particular to pharmacy and medicine (e.g., drug delivery, imaging/diagnosis, theranostics, biosensors, etc.), has enormous potential to solve critical issues of important human diseases (e.g., cancer, diabetes, cardiovascular disease, etc.). Especially in recent years, large amount of novel nanotherapeutics and nanodevices have been extensively explored with enormous positive impacts on human health. Examples include nanoparticles for the delivery of small molecule drugs, proteins, DNAs, siRNAs, and mRNAs for different kinds of therapy (e.g., chemotherapy, gene therapy, immunotherapy, etc.) via different administration pathways (e.g., oral administration, intravenous injection, inhalation, etc.), brand-new nanomaterials for novel treatment approaches (e.g., photothermal therapy, photodynamic therapy, radiotherapy, etc.), and multi-functionalized nano-agents for imaging (e.g., photoacoustic tomography, fluorescent imaging, computed tomography, magnetic resonance imaging, etc.), as well as the development of novel nanotechnology-based diagnosis/detection approaches.

Implementation of nanobiotechnology in pharmacology means that nano-formulations and nano-devices are technically designed to interact with organ/tissue/cell/sub-cell levels of the body with special functions, multi-stage properties, and high degrees of specificity, achieving maximum efficacy with minimal side effects. While the clinical applications of nanobiotechnology in pharmacology are still in the initial period, a significant amount of promising nanobiotechnology projects are in advanced experimental stages and preliminary clinical trials. The present Research Topic aims to give an overview of the most exciting progress in the field of nanobiotechnology applications in pharmacology. We believe that this Research Topic will give further insights in the development of novel nanobiotechnology for solving critical issues of major human diseases, which may significantly pave the way for the revolution of these emerging nanoscale materials in improving human health worldwide.