Interaction of Nanoparticles with Immunocompetent Cells: Nanosafety Considerations

Abstract

Intentional delivery of high doses of nanoparticle-based drugs or diagnostic/imaging systems sets a new scenario in safety evaluation, compared with the environmentally borne unintentional exposure to engineered nanoparticles. Intravenously administered nanomedicines immediately interact with blood components such as serum proteins, changing their own characteristics and consequently the features of their interaction with cells and tissues. Of major importance is the interaction of nanomedicines with the immune system, which is essential in the recognition and elimination of foreign dangerous agents. Nanomedicines need to avoid immune recognition in order to reach their therapeutic target and display their effect, should not trigger defensive mechanisms that can damage the body tissues (e.g., complement activation or inflammation) and should not interfere with immunocompetent cells in order to avoid promoting immune-related diseases. This review will briefly cover these issues, and propose some knowledge-based approaches for future ‘safe-by-design’ nanomedicines.

Keywords::

• immune response
• immunosafety
• inflammation
• nanomedicines
• targeted delivery

Financial & competing interests disclosure

This work has been performed in the framework of the projects DIPNA (Contract No. STRP 032131) and NanoTOES (Contract No. 264506) funded by the European Commission, and of the PRIN 2007Y84HTJ project funded by the Italian Ministry of Research. The authors have no other relevant affiliations or financial involvement with any organization or entity with a financial interest in or financial conflict with the subject matter or materials discussed in the manuscript apart from those disclosed.

No writing assistance was utilized in the production of this manuscript.

Acknowledgements

The authors are grateful to A. Duschl (Paris-Lodron Universitat Salzburg, Austria) for his valuable suggestions.

Additional information

Funding

This work has been performed in the framework of the projects DIPNA (Contract No. STRP 032131) and NanoTOES (Contract No. 264506) funded by the European Commission, and of the PRIN 2007Y84HTJ project funded by the Italian Ministry of Research. The authors have no other relevant affiliations or financial involvement with any organization or entity with a financial interest in or financial conflict with the subject matter or materials discussed in the manuscript apart from those disclosed.