drug vectorization

{{Short description|Molecular targeting technique using nanoparticles or liposomes carrying adsorbed drug substances}}

{{Other uses|Vectorization (disambiguation)}}

In pharmacology and medicine, vectorization of drugs refers to (intracellular) targeting with plastic, noble metal or silicon nanoparticles or liposomes to which pharmacologically active substances are reversibly bound or attached by adsorption.{{cite journal|title=Drug vectorization or how to modulate tissular and cellular distribution of biologically active compounds|author=Couvreur P.|journal=Ann Pharm Fr|year=2001|volume=59|issue=4|pages=232–8|pmid=11468577}}{{cite journal | last1=Secret | first1=Emilie | last2=Smith | first2=Kevin | last3=Dubljevic | first3=Valentina | last4=Moore | first4=Eli | last5=Macardle | first5=Peter | last6=Delalat | first6=Bahman | last7=Rogers | first7=Mary-Louise | last8=Johns | first8=Terrance G. | last9=Durand | first9=Jean-Olivier | last10=Cunin | first10=Frédérique | last11=Voelcker | first11=Nicolas H. | title=Antibody-Functionalized Porous Silicon Nanoparticles for Vectorization of Hydrophobic Drugs | journal=Advanced Healthcare Materials | publisher=Wiley | volume=2 | issue=5 | date=2012-11-30 | issn=2192-2640 | doi=10.1002/adhm.201200335 | pages=718–727|pmid=23203914| s2cid=879226 | url=https://unisa.alma.exlibrisgroup.com/view/delivery/61USOUTHAUS_INST/12143169470001831 |display-authors=5}}

CNRS researchers have devised a way to overcome the problem of multidrug resistance using polyalkyl cyanoacrylate (PACA) nanoparticles as "vectors".{{Cite web |url=http://www.cnrs.fr/Cnrspresse/en380a6.htm |title=CNRSinfo - en380a6 |access-date=2016-01-28 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150719223024/http://www.cnrs.fr/Cnrspresse/en380a6.htm |archive-date=2015-07-19 |url-status=dead }}

As a developing concept, drug nanocarriers are expected to play a major role in delivering multiple drugs to tumor tissues by overcoming semi-permeable membranes and biological barriers such as the blood–brain barrier.{{cite journal|title=Multifunctional nanocarriers for simultaneous encapsulation of hydrophobic and hydrophilic drugs in cancer treatment|journal=Nanomedicine (Lond.)|year=2014|volume=9|issue=10|pages=1499–515|doi=10.2217/nnm.14.97|pmid=25253498|last1=Su|first1=Chia-Wei|last2=Chiang|first2=Chih-Sheng|last3=Li|first3=Wei-Ming|last4=Hu|first4=Shang-Hsiu|last5=Chen|first5=San-Yuan}}