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Current Medicinal Chemistry

Editor-in-Chief

ISSN (Print): 0929-8673
ISSN (Online): 1875-533X

Why Anticancer Nanomedicine Needs Sugars?

Author(s): E. Bouffard, K. El Cheikh, A. Gallud, A. Da Silva, M. Maynadier, I. Basile, M. Gary-Bobo, A. Morere and M. Garcia

Volume 22, Issue 26, 2015

Page: [3014 - 3024] Pages: 11

DOI: 10.2174/0929867322666150805103104

Price: $65

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Abstract

Nowadays, nanomedicine brings new opportunities for diagnosis and treatment through innovative combinations of materials structured at the nanoscale, biomolecules and physicochemical processes. If the intrinsic properties of nanomaterials appear of major importance in this new discipline, the functionalization of these nanotools with biomolecules improves both their biocompatibility and efficacy. This is the case of carbohydrate derivatives, natural or synthetic, which are increasingly being used in nanostructures for medical purposes. As in current medicine, sugars are used to mimic their physiological roles. Indeed, carbohydrates enhance the solubility and reduce the clearance of drugs. They are used to mask immunogenic components of nano-objects and escape the body defenses and finally facilitate the delivery to the target tissue. All these properties explain the growing importance of sugars in nanomedicine.

Keywords: Drug delivery, glycochemistry, nanomedicine, nanoparticles.


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