Gene therapies, drug delivery

Key Words Gene therapy Drug delivery Polymers Transfection High-throughput screening. 

Liposomes Specific targeting of cancer cells, gene therapy, drug delivery 38 0... 

Considerable advances have occurred in DDS within the past decade. Extended release, controlled release, and once-a-day medications are available for several commonly used drugs. Global vaccine programs are close to becoming a reality with the use of oral, transmucosal, transcutaneous, and needle-less vaccination. Considerable advances have been made in gene therapy and delivery of protein therapeutics. Many improvements in cancer treatment can be attributed to novel drug delivery technologies. 

Apart from their morphological diversity, polymer vesicles have been at the focus of extensive research also because of their potential applications, especially in medical fields. These kinds of applications usually exploit the unique ability of polymersomes to encapsulate hydrophilic compounds within the core and, at the same time, hydrophobic and amphiphilic molecules within the membrane. This feature combined with the enhanced mechanical properties of polymeric membranes renders them ideal delivery devices. As a result, polymer vesicles have been extensively utilised in drug delivery, gene therapy, protein delivery, medical imaging, cancer diagnosis and therapy, etc. [48-54]. 

The stndy and preparation of hollow capsules has attracted considerable attention in recent years. Hollow capsules are of immense interest in a long list of potential applications. These inclnde drug delivery, gene therapy, catalysis, waste removal, acoustic insulation, piezoelectric transducers, and functional materials [14],... 

Anthony M. Lowman, Thomas D. Dziubla, Petr Bures, and Nicholas A. Peppas, Structural and Dynamic Response of Neutral and Intelligent Networks in Biomedical Environments F. Kurds Kasper and Antonios G. Mikos, Biomaterials and Gene Therapy Balaji Narasimhan and Matt J. Kipper, Surface-Erodible Biomaterials for Drug Delivery... 

Gene Therapies. The types of vectors that have been used or proposed for gene transduction include retrovirus, adenovirus, adeno-associated viruses, other viruses (e.g., herpes, vaccinia, etc.), and plasmid DNA. Methods for gene introduction include ex vivo replacement, drug delivery, marker studies, and others and in vivo, viral vectors, plasmid vectors, and vector producer cells. 

Labhasetwar V (2005) Nanotechnology for drug and gene therapy the importance of understanding molecular mechanisms of delivery. Curr Opin Biotechnol 16 674-680. 

Laube BL (2005) The expanding role of aerosols in systemic drug delivery, gene therapy, and vaccination. Respir Care 50(9) 1161-1176. 

In October 2003, the SFDA approved the world s first gene therapy— Gendicine (a recombinant human adenovirus type 5 mediated delivery of p53 gene)— for the treatment of head and neck cancer. In 2005, another head and neck cancer drug, Oncorine (a recombinant oncolytic adenovirus type 5), was approved. In the same year, another recombinant human endostatin, Endostar, was approved for the treatment of small-cell lung cancer. 

It is not always appreciated that the application of in vivo gene therapy actually represents a drug delivery protocol. By the incorporation of plasmids into e.g. adenoviral or hposomal coats they are protected from degradation. Subsequent interaction with the target cells leads to intracellular delivery and then to nuclear localization of the plasmid. Although transfec-... 

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