Nanocarriers for Diagnostics, Imaging, and Drug Delivery: Critical Perspectives on Materials, Technologies, in Vivo Fate

Dear Colleagues,

Miniaturizing drug delivery systems carries an arsenal of advantages along. In addition to improved biodistribution profiles and increased therapeutic indices, the large surface area available on nanocarriers discloses powerful possibilities to generate multifunctional platforms synergistically suited for therapeutic and diagnostic purposes. The early identification of diseases can be achieved thanks to an ever-growing knowledge on biomarkers, while the outcome of minimally invasive surgery can be dramatically improved by means of image-guided procedures fine-tuned by tailored nanocontrast agents. Nevertheless, despite the massive numbers of nanocarriers proposed, bottlenecks in providing clinically relevant results are constantly present. Are new materials proposed as building blocks keeping an eye on safety? Is the transition from an in vitro system to an in vivo one the rate-limiting step? Is a critical evaluation of the efficacy against relevant controls always rigorously conducted? Last but not least, the debate about the most successful approach is open today: Is a formulation-driven design or a disease-driven strategy ultimately more advisable?

With this Special Issue of Molecules, we aim at proposing an overview on some of the most recent approaches in the development of nanocarriers for imaging, diagnostic, and drug delivery, with a particular attention to studies involving in vivo evaluations.

We also warmly welcome contributions in the form of research articles, short communication, and review articles presenting prototype systems with a strong preclinical potential. New materials and biomaterials proposed as building block for the nanocarriers, hybrid nanocarriers, classical nanocarriers revisited for new imaging and diagnostic modalities, or alternative nano-based drug delivery approaches are among the themes that would fit this Special Issue’s vision. Submission of manuscripts critically presenting negative results as final outcome of robust working hypothesis is also strongly encouraged.

We look forward to receiving your contributions!

Prof. Dr. Paola Luciani
Prof. Dr. Davide Brambilla
Guest Editors