Active Targeting of Nanomedicines

Actively targeted nanomedicines are drug delivery systems based on nanocarriers loaded with therapeutics and/or imaging agents, in which a targeting moiety has been attached to their surface to target and interact with the specific receptor to elicit their effect. Three major components should be carefully considered when designing an optimal nanomedicine including (i) the nature of the nanocarrier (e.g. liposomes, particles, dendrimers, micelles), (ii) the specifics of the targeting moiety (e.g. proteins, peptides, oligonucleotides, carbohydrates), and (iii) the choice of therapeutic and/or imaging agent. Nowadays, promising approaches have been developed, especially in the fields of cancer, central nervous system diseases, and rheumatoid arthritis (RA). However, very few active targeted nanomedicines have progressed from proof-of-concept to clinical trials due to the complexity of batch-to-batch manufacturing and other limitations. Microfluidic approaches are emergent technologies enabling the continuous manufacturing of targeted nanomedicines.