Nanomaterials for Diagnosis and Treatment of Lung Cancer: A Review of Recent Patents.

Abstract

Lung cancer is one of the major killers among different kinds of cancer. Being a silent developer, the earliest detection and treatment of lung cancer is a challenging task. The existing therapeutic agents have lower efficacy. Nanotechnology can overcome the challenges posed by conventional approaches to ensure reliable diagnosis and treatment. Various patents on nano diagnosis and nano delivery aspects of lung cancer were analyzed to compile the information in a nutshell. The increasing trend of patents on nano-based solutions for lung cancer opens new opportunities. Google patent and Science Citation Index Expanded data sources were used to obtain relevant literature on nano-detection and nano-drug delivery for lung cancer. Various keywords were used to ensure the inclusion of recent and most relevant information in each section. The gist of the patent is described with suitable subsections. Thorough review of recent patents on nanotechnology-based theranostics of lung cancer was conducted. Nanotechnology-based diagnosis and treatment of lung cancer overcome the drawbacks of traditional treatments with better stability, targeted drug delivery, controlled sustained drug release, ease of membrane transport, and better therapeutic efficacy/safety ratio to obtain optimized clinical results. Further, it is cost-effective and accurate. Overall, the application of nanotechnology in lung cancer treatment and diagnosis is a futuristic approach. Furthermore, NPs-based in vitro and in vivo detection and nano drug delivery to lungs need to be rigorously pursued for a sustainable solution.