Nanotechnology based therapeutics for lung disease

Thorax. 2019 Oct;74(10):965-976. doi: 10.1136/thoraxjnl-2019-213037. Epub 2019 Jul 8.

Abstract

Nanomedicine is a multidisciplinary research field with an integration of traditional sciences such as chemistry, physics, biology and materials science. The application of nanomedicine for lung diseases as a relatively new area of interdisciplinary science has grown rapidly over the last 10 years. Promising research outcomes suggest that nanomedicine will revolutionise the practice of medicine, through the development of new approaches in therapeutic agent delivery, vaccine development and nanotechnology-based medical detections. Nano-based approaches in the diagnosis and treatment of lung diseases will, in the not too distant future, change the way we practise medicine. This review will focus on the current trends and developments in the clinical translation of nanomedicine for lung diseases, such as in the areas of lung cancer, cystic fibrosis, asthma, bacterial infections and COPD.

Keywords: asthma; copd pharmacology; cystic fibrosis; lung cancer; pneumonia.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't
  • Review

MeSH terms

  • Biomedical Research*
  • Drug Delivery Systems / trends*
  • Humans
  • Lung Diseases / therapy*
  • Nanomedicine / methods*
  • Nanotechnology / methods*