Using Intralipid to Improve Delivery of Anti-Cancer Nanodrugs: Effects on RES Clearance and Toxi city, EPR, and Immune Modulation

Abstract

Encapsulation of therapeutic molecules (e.g., small molecule inhibitors, mRNA, siRNA, aptamers, etc.) into nanomaterials can improve the solubility and blood circulation of the drugs, alter their biodistribution, decrease their toxicities, overcome drug resistance, and facilitate their entry into target cells [1]. The development of anti-cancer nanodrugs has been the focus of intense study for decades. Several anti-cancer nanodrugs have been approved for clinical use all over the world [2]. These have contributed greatly to a lower death rate from some cancers, and thus are widely used. However, an extensive analysis of anti-cancer nanodrugs found an extremely low efficiency of delivery to the tumor, i.e., less than 1% [2]. This is obviously very wasteful and contributes greatly to the increasing cost of health care [1]. To date, most nanodrugs have been focused on cancer research, but the techniques have been translated for many other applications, e.g., vaccines, cardiovascular disease, and neuropathy disease [3-6].