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Pharmaceutics
Special Issues
Dendrimer-Mediated Drug, Gene, and Protein Delivery for Disease Treatment
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Dendrimer-Mediated Drug, Gene, and Protein Delivery for Disease Treatment

A Special Issue of Pharmaceutics (ISSN 1999-4923) belonging to the section "Nanomedicine and Nanotechnology".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 31 December 2026 | Viewed by 813

Editors

Prof. Dr. Xiangyang Shi

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
State Key Laboratory for Modification of Chemical Fibers and Polymer Materials, Shanghai Engineering Research Center of Nano-Biomaterials and Regenerative Medicine, College of Biological Science and Medical Engineering, Donghua University, Shanghai 201620, China
Interests: dendrimers; gold nanoparticles; magnetic nanoparticles; imaging; drug delivery; gene delivery; theranostics; tumors
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Prof. Dr. João Rodrigues

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
CQM–Centro de Química da Madeira, Molecular Materials Research Group (MMRG), Campus da Penteada, Universidade da Madeira, 9000-390 Funchal, Portugal
Interests: inorganic/organometallic chemistry; nanochemistry and nanomaterials; organometallic materials with non-linear optical properties; advanced materials for energy and manufacturing; nanomaterials for energy applications
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Dendrimers are highly branched, nanoscale macromolecules characterized by well-defined architectures, internal cavities, and numerous surface functional groups. These unique features make them excellent candidates for biomedical delivery applications. Their structural versatility allows for the encapsulation or conjugation of various therapeutic agents, including small-molecule drugs, genes, and proteins. Recent advances in dendrimer-based delivery platforms have enabled the targeted and controlled release of therapeutic agents, thereby enhancing therapeutic efficacy and reducing systemic toxicity. Through surface modification, dendrimers can be tailored to recognize specific cellular targets or respond to environmental stimuli such as pH or enzymes. These features have been widely utilized in the treatment of cancer, inflammatory diseases, and infectious diseases.

This Special Issue focuses on recent advances in dendrimer-mediated delivery systems and their applications in precision medicine, with particular emphasis on their potential role in addressing complex therapeutic challenges.

We welcome original research papers and review articles on these and related aspects for inclusion in this Special Issue of Pharmaceutics, “Dendrimer-Mediated Drug, Gene, and Protein Delivery for Disease Treatment”.

Prof. Dr. Xiangyang Shi
Prof. Dr. João Rodrigues
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 250 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for assessment.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-anonymized peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Pharmaceutics is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2900 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • dendrimers
  • drug delivery
  • gene delivery
  • protein delivery
  • targeted therapy
  • bioconjugation
  • controlled release
  • tumor therapy
  • inflammatory diseases
  • infectious diseases

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Published Papers (1 paper)

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Research

28 pages, 13658 KB  
Article
Transferrin-Conjugated, Camptothecin-Bearing Dendrimersomes Entrapping Docetaxel as a Dual-Drug Nanoplatform for Targeted Prostate Cancer Therapy
by Musa Albatsh, Zainab Al-Quraishi, Partha Laskar, Sukrut Somani, Craig Irving, Graeme R. Mackenzie, Stuart Woods, Craig W. Roberts, Margaret Mullin and Christine Dufès
Pharmaceutics 2026, 18(8), 959; https://doi.org/10.3390/pharmaceutics18080959 - 4 Aug 2026
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Abstract
Background/Objectives: Advanced prostate cancer remains difficult to treat because docetaxel, although clinically important, is limited by systemic toxicity, poor tumor selectivity, and acquired resistance. Camptothecin is a potent anticancer agent, but its clinical application is restricted by poor solubility and instability. This [...] Read more.
Background/Objectives: Advanced prostate cancer remains difficult to treat because docetaxel, although clinically important, is limited by systemic toxicity, poor tumor selectivity, and acquired resistance. Camptothecin is a potent anticancer agent, but its clinical application is restricted by poor solubility and instability. This study investigated the synergy between docetaxel and camptothecin and developed transferrin-conjugated, camptothecin-bearing dendrimersomes entrapping docetaxel as a targeted nanocarrier for prostate cancer therapy. Methods: Drug synergy was evaluated in PC3-Luc cells using an MTT assay and combination index analysis. Transferrin-conjugated, disulfide-linked camptothecin-bearing PEGylated DAB dendrimers were synthesized and characterized by 1H-NMR, critical aggregation concentration analysis, transmission electron microscopy, and entrapment efficiency measurements. pH- and redox-dependent drug release was assessed by dialysis. Cellular uptake and uptake mechanisms were investigated by confocal microscopy, flow cytometry, and inhibitor studies in PC3-Luc, DU145, and LNCaP cells. Anti-proliferative efficacy was determined by an MTT assay. Results: Docetaxel and camptothecin showed marked synergy in PC3-Luc cells, with a minimum combination index of 0.20 ± 0.01 and 88.10 ± 0.41% growth inhibition at low nanomolar concentrations. Transferrin-conjugated dendrimersomes self-assembled into spherical vesicles with a critical aggregation concentration of approximately 250 µg/mL. They had high docetaxel entrapment efficiency (89.10 ± 0.08%) and enhanced drug release under acidic and reductive conditions. They significantly increased cellular uptake of docetaxel relative to non-targeted dendrimersomes (by up to 3-fold) and free drugs (by up to 20-fold), mainly through transferrin receptor-mediated endocytosis, and improved anti-proliferative activity in all three cell lines. Tf-conjugated DPSSC produced the lowest IC50 values among the tested formulations: 11.72 ± 1.02 nM in PC3-Luc, 9.88 ± 1.22 nM in DU145, and 7.88 ± 1.35 nM in LNCaP cells. Conclusions: Transferrin-conjugated camptothecin-based dendrimersomes entrapping docetaxel represent a promising multifunctional nanocarrier for prostate cancer that combines synergistic dual-drug therapy, active targeting, and stimulus-responsive release, supporting further evaluation as a selective delivery strategy in advanced prostate cancer using preclinical models and in vivo studies. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Dendrimer-Mediated Drug, Gene, and Protein Delivery for Disease Treatment)
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