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Nanoparticles in targeted cancer therapy: mesoporous silica nanoparticles entering preclinical development stage

Center for Functional Materials, Laboratory for Physical Chemistry, Department of Natural Sciences, Åbo Akademi University, Porthansgatan 3–5, FI-20500, Turku, Finland

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Veronika Mamaeva

Turku Centre for Biotechnology, University of Turku & Åbo Akademi University, P.O. Box 123, FI-20521, Turku, Finland

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Cecilia Sahlgren

* Author for correspondence

Department of Biosciences, Cell biology, Åbo Akademi University, FI-20520 Turku, Finland.

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Email the corresponding author at cecilia.sahlgren@btk.fi

Mika Lindén

* Author for correspondence

Inorganic Chemistry II, University of Ulm, Albert-Einstein-Allee 11, D-89081Ulm, Germany.

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Email the corresponding author at mlinden@uni-ulm.de

Published Online:22 Dec 2011https://doi.org/10.2217/nnm.11.166

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Abstract

Nanotechnology may help overcome persisting limitations of current cancer treatment and thus contribute to the creation of more effective, safer and more affordable therapies. While some nanotechnology-based drug delivery systems are already being marketed and others are in clinical trial, most still remain in the preclinical development stage. Mesoporous silica nanoparticles have been highlighted as an interesting drug delivery platform, due to their flexibility and high drug load potential. Although numerous reports demonstrate sophisticated drug delivery mechanisms in vitro, the therapeutic benefit of these systems for in vivo applications have been under continuous debate. This has been due to nontranslatable conditions used in the in vitro studies, as well as contradictory conclusions drawn from preclinical (in vivo) studies. However, recent studies have indicated that the encouraging cellular studies could in fact be repeated also in vivo. Here, we report on these recent advances regarding therapeutic efficacy, targeting and safety issues related to the application of mesoporous silica nanoparticles in cancer therapy.

Keywords:

Papers of special note have been highlighted as: ▪ of interest ▪▪ of considerable interest

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Published online 22 December 2011

Published in print January 2012

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Financial & competing interests disclosure

The authors have no relevant affiliations or financial involvement with any organization or entity with a financial interest in or financial conflict with the subject matter or materials discussed in the manuscript. This includes employment, consultancies, honoraria, stock ownership or options, expert testimony, grants or patents received or pending, or royalties.

No writing assistance was utilized in the production of this manuscript.

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