Marcel POPA1, Vasile BURLUI2, Camelia Elena TINCU3
Abstract. Nanotechnology and nanomedicine are on the verge of realizing the concept of the “magic bullet” first proposed a century ago by the Nobel Prize laureate and founder of chemotherapy, Paul Ehrlich. The last 2-3 decades have been notable for the scope of research in this field, aimed at achieving more efficient, even personalized therapy for patients with various diseases. The great challenge was to achieve treatment options that are much more effective than traditional therapy, initially for cancer. Subsequently, the concerns of specialists in the field – chemists, biologists, doctors, pharmacists – have also expanded to treat practically any disease of the human body. The achievement of such therapy involves the association of the drug with a nanometric carrier, capable of being administered into the body, especially by injection, loaded with the drug, and decorated on the outside with functions (ligands) capable of being recognized by the typical receptors overexpressed in the membrane of cells specific to each organ. The paper aims to review the literature of the last decade, in particular, presenting the types of known nanocarriers, how to obtain them, how to functionalize them with ligands recognized by specific cellular receptors, as well as the medical applications that, at least potentially, can benefit from the advantages of targeted therapy.
Keywords: drug targeting, nanocarriers, functionalization with ligands, applications of targeting polymeric systems
DOI 10.56082/annalsarsciphyschem.2025.2.82
1 Prof.,PhD, Eng.,“Ioan Haulica” Institute of Research, Faculty of Medicine, “Apollonia” University of Iasi, 11, Pacurari street, 700511, Iași, Romania, full member of Academy of Romanian Scientists, 050045 Bucharest, Romania (marpopa2001@yahoo.fr)
2 Prof., PhD,“Ioan Haulica” Institute of Research, Faculty of Medicine, “Apollonia” University of Iasi, 11, Pacurari street, 700511, Iași, Romania, full member of Academy of Romanian Scientists, 050045 Bucharest, Romania (domenico_med@yshoo.com)
3 Scientific researcher, PhD, ,“Ioan Haulica” Institute of Research, Faculty of Medicine, “Apollonia” University of Iasi, 11, Pacurari street, 700511, Iași, Romania (camelia_tincu83@yahoo.com
PUBLISHED in Annals of the Academy of Romanian Scientists Series on Physics and Chemistry, Volume 10, No2