Recent Patents on Nanomedicine - Volume 4, Issue 2, 2014

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.

This mini-review examines key classes of short peptides capable of self-assembly into nanostructured hydrogels for biomaterial applications, with an eye for the current patent landscape. Systems reviewed are the ones based on heterochiral short peptides, N-protected peptides with aromatic moieties to induce π-π stacking (e.g., Fmoc, naphthalene), peptide amphiphiles displaying alkyl chains, amphiphilic peptides, beta-hairpin systems. Patents related to their more general use in cell culture or more tissue-specific applications are also briefly discussed. Concluding remarks on current and future developments will provide a perspective on the direction that this field is undertaking.

The review is dedicated to the analysis of modern nanotechnologies, presented in patents and research articles aimed at optimization of cancer diagnostics and treatment. The attention in the review is focused on dendrimers, fullerenes and heterocyclic compounds with antitumor effect. The mechanisms of antitumor activity of nanoparticles and heterocyclic compounds manifest on intracellular, cellular, tissue, organ and system levels. Such diverse effect of nanoparticles and heterocyclic compounds from DNA and mitochondria level to immune system and neurohumoral defense reactions perplexes the development of targeted antitumor agents. The authors propose to pay attention on direct antitumor effect of dendrimers, fullerenes and heterocyclic compounds. The authors of patents and latest research articles consider the positive additive action of nanoparticles (dendrimers, fullerenes) and heterocyclic compounds in combination with antitumor drugs as the most promising direction in cancer therapy. The reason for this is that toxic (adverse) effect of chemotherapy is well known for all living cells (both tumor and nontumor). That is why the search for alternative ways of leveling this effect is being carried out nowadays. The use of dendrimers or fullerenes with chemotherapeutic agents and/or heterocyclic compounds is one of the promising directions. Such combination of nanoparticles with substances allows lowering the concentration of chemotherapeutic drugs, but saves their antitumor effect. The prospectively of this technology is in the reduction of adverse (toxic) effect of chemotherapy without affecting its antitumor potential.

The number of patents that is increasing in the field of radiopharmacy from 2000 until 2013 are over 4500 patents that have been deposited nationaly and internationally. However, only few of these patents had reached the market and became true radiopharmaceuticals. This paradigm is changing and the development of nanomaterials may be one of these factors. The development of nano-drugs for cancer imaging and therapy is desired. Besides all the investment (over 50 billion dollars) around the world, the result is quite promising and reveals a great deal of application of nanotechnology. In this review, some aspects related to tumor environment and radiopharmaceuticals (DDS) are studied.

Nanoparticles are widely used as carrier materials for biomedical applications such as functional and morphological imaging diagnosis and therapeutic drug delivery. Based on their performance in these biomedical applications, nanoparticles have attracted great interest as a platform for combining diagnostics and therapy. Research efforts are currently underway to design effective theranostic nanoparticles that enable imaging diagnosis and therapy simultaneously. Liposomes, which have been used clinically for drug delivery systems, are a principal platform for theranostic applications. This review specifically examines liposomes as a nanoscale platform to develop theranostic formulations as referring to recent publications including patents.

Wound dressing is radically shifting its direction from traditional and modern dressings to technologicallyadvanced nano dressings. Innovations in electrospinning have accelerated the evolutionary pace of wound dressing towards nano fibers. Non-woven nano fibers fabricated by electrospinning offer many versatile features for a wound dressing because of its high surface area-to-volume ratio. Functional properties of nano fibers are attributed to many parameters. The significance of nano fibers in wound healing are evident from the recent patents filed regarding the synthesis of polypeptide nanofiber gel, hemostatic wound dressings and dressings incorporating antibiotics, antiinflammatory drugs and growth factors. This review focus on the influence of biopolymer concentration, solvent, solution rheology and processing conditions used for electrospinning on architecture and function of nano fiber. Further discussion to explore the recent advancement in the use of state of the art work of nano fiber as a scaffold and drug delivery vehicle for wound healing, is also presented. Other issues pertaining to limitations of nano fibers, challenges in the clinical use of nano fibers for wound healing and its future prospects were summarized, as well.

The uniqueness of nanotechnology roams around the fact that it literally allows scientists/researchers to build an entirely new product. Nanotechnology compels the limits of our imagination to be redefined. Nanomedicinal technology has provided the possibility of delivering drugs to specific cells using nanoparticles. The main aim of the review is to adopt a holistic approach towards health care by balancing the physical, mental and spiritual functions of a human body. Bhasma is the product of calcined preparation in which gem/metal is converted into ash. The introduction of the review article comprises over a full view for describing bhasma as an Indian perspectance of nanomedicines. Further, the characterisation of Bhasma with the recent discoveries and ongoing researches about nanobhasma and also the treatment methodology for some life threatening diseases are being discussed. The discussion moves forward with the description of recently published patent of nanobhasma products. The conclusion of the review is the summoned treasures of words that resembles to all the above aspects mentioned which are being discussed in the manuscript. The ending of the review covers a thoughtful vision which carries bhasma in the limelight of researchers/scientists/pharmacists that would surely take nanoworld to its zenith.

We have constructed a citation network model of the 20% most cited patent families on cancer and liposomes. This model was structurally analyzed through a combination of two Cytoscape plugins: Clust and AllegroMCODE. We found four patent meta-families (densely interconnected regions) in the network model. Three of the four patent meta-families are related to specific anti-cancer liposomal formulations: LEP-ETU, LE-DT, Doxil® and Marqibo®. This model was compared with a previous study on the knowledge translation in literature network. Both models show that liposome used as a carrier of old drugs is simultaneously the paradigm and the dominant design for liposomes and cancer. Our results evidence that the innovation process in this field, is conservative and continuous.