Nanotoxicological profiles of clinically approved nanoplatforms

Abstract

Abstract Background Nanoparticles (NPs) engineering offers great opportunities to produce versatile materials for multiple applications in medicine, including drug delivery and bioimaging. Successful development of nanomedicines up to the clinical level is evidence that nanotechnology has made gigantic strides in addressing health problems. Area covered This review briefly discusses the toxicological data from selected clinically relevant nanoplatform technologies (i.e. liposomes, poly(lactide-co-glycolide) and iron oxide NPs); comparisons between such nano-systems provide insights into existing challenges in nanotoxicity assessment. The factors that can affect nanoparticles toxicity have been discussed as well. Albeit most studies reported no major toxicological effects, the analysis of reported data pinpoints the lack of organ-function studies as well as the difficulty in comparing nanotoxicity findings from different protocols due to the discrepancies in experimental conditions. Conclusion The previously developed nanomedicines are likely a result of constant efforts dedicated to improving the quality attributes of individual products on case-by-case basis, given the luck of design rules for optimal nanoproducts. Thus, further systematic investigations are required to streamline the general design principles in nanoproducts development and boost the translation of NPs from bench to bedside.