Active targeting

Actively targeted nanomedicines are drug delivery systems based on nanocarriers loaded with a therapeutic and/or imaging agent in which a targeting moiety has been attached onto their surface, with the aim of targeting and interacting with a specific receptor, in order to elicit their effect. Three major components should be carefully considered in order to design an optimal nanomedicine including: the nanocarrier (e.g. liposomes, particles, dendrimers, micelles), the targeting moiety (e.g. proteins, peptides, oligonucleotides, carbohydrates), and the therapeutic and/or imaging agent. Nowadays, promising approaches have been developed, especially in the field of cancer and central nervous system diseases. However, very few active targeted nanomedicines have progressed from the proof-of-concept to clinical trials.