Nanoparticles in pancreatic cancer therapy: a detailed and elaborated review on patent literature

ABSTRACT

Introduction

Nanotechnology may open up new avenues for overcoming the challenges of pancreatic cancer therapy as a broad arsenal of anticancer medicines fail to realize their full therapeutic potential in pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma due to the formation of multiple resistance mechanisms inside the tumor. Many studies have reported the successful use of various nano formulations in pancreatic cancer therapy.

Areas covered

This review covers all the major nanotechnology-based patent litrature available on renowned patent data bases like Patentscope and Espacenet, through the time period of 2007–2022. This is an entirely patent centric review, and it includes both clinical and non-clinical data available on nanotechnology-based therapeutics and diagnostic tools for pancreatic cancer.

Expert opinion

For the sake of understanding, the patents are categorized under various formulation-specific heads like metallic/non-metallic nanoparticles, polymeric nanoparticles, liposomes, carbon nanotubes, protein nanoparticles and liposomes. This distinguishes one specific nanoparticle type from another and makes this review a one-of-a-kind comprehensive patent compilation that has not been reported so far in the history of nanotechnological formulations in pancreatic cancer.

GRAPHICAL ABSTRACT

Different nanotechnology backed formulations and pancreatic cancer

KEYWORDS:

• Pancreatic cancer
• nanotechnology
• tumor -microenvironment
• patents
• nano-formulations
• liposomes
• carbon dots
• dendrimers

Article highlights

• Pancreatic cancer is one of the leading causes of cancer related deaths and morbidities worldwide. It is the need of the hour to develop new therapeutic stratagems for treating this deadly and evasive form of cancer.

• The most challenging aspect in therapy of pancreatic cancer is that it is resistant to most of the newest treatment approaches therapeutic combinations.

• Patients inflicted with this deadly form of cancer have a very few treatment options at hand and reformative research is needed as we don’t have any major patents in this arena so far.

• Nanotechnology may open up new avenues for overcoming the challenges of pancreatic cancer therapy.

• We outline major patents that harness the unique tumor targeting capabilities of nanomedicine from 2007 to 2022.

• Connective research is needed further in order to establish the veracity and effectiveness of the claims made in the patents discussed.

Declaration of interests

The authors have no 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. This includes employment, consultancies, honoraria, stock ownership or options, expert testimony, grants or patents received or pending, or royalties.

Reviewer disclosures

Peer reviewers on this manuscript have no relevant financial or other relationships to disclose.

Author contribution statement

Mohini Singh and Bhaskar Mazumder: Constructing an idea or hypothesis for research and/or manuscript. Mohini Bhaskar, Bhaskar: Planning methodology to reach the conclusion. Bhaskar Mazumder: Organising and supervising the course of the project or the article and taking the responsibility. Mohini Singh, Bani Kumar Jana: Taking responsibility in execution of the experiments, patient follow-up, data management and reporting. Mohini Singh, Ishita Singha, Paulami Pal: Taking responsibility in this necessary function. Bani Kumar Jana, Ananya Rajkumari, Venessa Nath: Taking responsibility in the construction of the whole or body of the manuscript. Mohini Singh, Bhaskar Mazumder: Reviewing the article before submission not only for spelling and grammar but also for its intellectual content.

Additional information

Funding

This work was funded by DST, Government of India under the Women Scientist A Scheme [DST/WOS A/LS-298/2019].