Chapter 3 - The current perspectives of nanoparticles in cellular and organ-specific drug targeting in biological system

Abstract

The current perspectives on the nanoparticle have proved that it plays a promising role in the field of nanomedicine. The basic understanding of nanoparticle action in the biological system at various levels, i.e., systemic, organ, tissue, cell, and pathophysiological environments with multiple disease conditions, provides better outcomes in the field of nanomedicine. However, the usage of nanoparticles is restricted to introducing nanomedicine in clinical trials due to its potential toxicity in a biological system. This chapter is focused on the cellular and organ-specific action of nanoparticles in a biological system. In addition, it also emphasizes the possible mechanism to overcome the limitation of nanoparticles. Furthermore, the interaction between nanoparticles and cells are explained by the cellular uptake and the action on subcellular compartments process. It also covers the factors affecting nanoparticle action, i.e., activity on cell membranes, ion channels, cytoskeletal proteins, mitochondria, and nucleus; interaction with proteins, lipids, DNA and small molecules; and alteration of cellular signaling, genomic, proteomic and metabonomic processes in the biological system. The detailed overview of this chapter opens up the “Pandora's box” and supports successful nanomedicine in various disorders including cancer, vascular and neurodegenerative disorders.