Nanoconstructs in Targeted Alpha-Therapy

Nanotechnology has brought brand new concept into the targeted radionuclide therapy field. Radionuclides decaying by alpha particle cascade, due to their high linear energy transfer deposit the decay energy in a very small tissue volume, usually of few cells. Main disadvantage of these radionuclides is that no chelator or other type of labeled molecule can withhold the recoil energy of daughter hot atoms generated in such decays. Every hot daughter atom is thus immediately released from the carrier molecule and may cause severe damage to healthy tissues in vivo, particularly when applied systemically. Some nano-sized engineered constructs are due to their physical and chemical properties at least partially able to retain recoiled atoms and ensure proper therapeutical dose targeting. An overview of various approaches and attempts is given in this paper together with an outlook for prospective solutions and their applications. Few recent patents to the topic have been reviewed and cited.