Cell-nanoparticle interactions

A considerable increase in research using nanotechnology for biomedical applications including diagnostics, drug delivery systems, imaging agents, implant coatings, and other therapeutic techniques has occurred since the beginning of this century. The ability of nanoparticles (NPs) to mediate biological effects due to their distinctive physico-chemical properties makes them attractive in medicine and nanomedicine (e.g., increase in implant performance by nano-textured surfaces, improvement in NP delivery of therapeutics into tumors by the enhanced permeability and retention (EPR) effect, enhancement of MRI contrast by superparamagnetic NPs). In addition, commercialization of technology is another unique benefit of NPs (e.g., rediscovery of drugs that may have been clinically unsuccessful in the past, give greater intellectual property protection, allow novel drug indications).