CFP - Special Issue: Interventional Nanotheranostics for targeted imaging and combination therapeutics

This themed issue covers the recent developments of nanosized theranostic platforms and their interventional approaches for early-stage diagnosis and therapeutics including treatment modalities viz., combination therapeutics, image guided therapeutics, multimode imaging and therapy etc.

Nanotheranostics (integrated therapeutic and diagnostic within a single system)¹ is an emerging research area for site-selective early-stage diagnosis and therapeutics of cancer. In a short time (within 10 years) nanotheranostics research has gained tremendous attention for targeted bio-imaging and therapeutics with different modalities. Globally, more than 200 research groups are actively working for nanotheranostics and it’s translational research. Based on PubMed, Clinical trials.gov, and FDA databases, more than 33,000 publications related to nanoparticles for imaging and therapeutics have been noticed. Among them, about 400 publications are related to the clinical translational research with 60 FDA approvals and ongoing about 90 trials.² More than 60 % of these clinical studies are related to the cancer treatments and about 25% for other diseases. From these numbers, it is clear that the clinical translatability of nanoparticles also known as nanomedicines have huge scope for better human health care. Overall, nanobiotechnology based therapeutics approaches have potential impact compared to the conventional one. For example, the cost of nanotherapy (PEGylated liposomal doxorubicin) is cheaper by €1285 as compared to the cost of traditional chemotherapy (gemcitabine, €2670).³

Importantly, nanotheranostics have been widely explored due to low diagnostics costs, better therapeutic efficacy and overall reduction of the number of days in hospital for each patient. Hence, the global market for nanotheranostics is anticipated to be more than $187 billion. However, the current translation of nanotheranostics into clinical practice is still a path strewn with incredible obstacles. Intervention in engineering nanotheranostics or their diagnostics and therapeutics approaches can resolve the clinical translational issues of nanotheranostics. Hence, this themed issue on Interventional Nanotheranostics offers a joint platform for biomedical researchers, oncologists, radiologist and the entire nanomedicine community to share their knowledge and visions. Further, this themed issue will make a bridge between medical doctors, biomedical scientists and pharmaceutical industries. Inviting research articles from various experts will be beneficial for young researchers to understand the clinical translational challenges and their new scopes. Overall, this themed issue will be a new hope for initiating fruitful collaboration between wide range of biomedical researchers (laboratory, hospitals and industries).

This themed issue on Interventional Nanotheranostics will cover more than 10 articles (research papers, review, perspectives, editorial etc.) from leading experts in bio-imaging, nanotheranostics, nanomedicines, drug delivery, combination therapeutics, biomaterials etc. Contributing researchers from respective area will share their knowledge on recent achievements and future directions of nanotheranostics associated topics.

Reference

Prasad, R., Jain, N.K., Yadav, A.S., Chauhan, D.S., Devrukhkar, J., Kumawat, M.K., Shinde, S., Gorain, M., Thakor, A.S., Kundu, G.C. and Conde, J., 2020. Liposomal nanotheranostics for multimode targeted in vivo bioimaging and near‐infrared light mediated cancer therapy. Communications biology, 3(1), pp.1-14.
Younis, M.A., Tawfeek, H.M., Abdellatif, A.A., Abdel-Aleem, J.A. and Harashima, H., 2021. Clinical translation of nanomedicines: Challenges, opportunities, and keys. Advanced drug delivery reviews, p.114083.
Pedrosa, P., Vinhas, R., Fernandes, A. and Baptista, P.V., 2015. Gold nanotheranostics: proof-of-concept or clinical tool?. Nanomaterials, 5(4), pp.1853-1879.

Editor-in-Chief
Jonathan Lovell, PhD
Associate Professor
Biomedical Engineering
University at Buffalo, State University of New York, USA
E-mail:
https://www.acsu.buffalo.edu/~jflovell/index.html

Special Issue Editor
Rajendra Prasad, PhD, MRSC
Postdoctoral Fellow
Department of Mechanical Engineering
Tufts University, Medford, Boston Avenue, MA 02155, USA
E-mail: ,
Interests: Nanotheranostics, Solid Tumor Imaging, Combination Therapeutics

Special issue information:
Nanotheranostics has potential impact for site-selective imaging and treatment of cancer in pre-clinical and clinical modals. So far, various nanotheranostics systems have been proposed for pre-clinical studies especially for solid tumor imaging and therapeutics. These nanotheranostics have been recognized as versatile platforms for early-stage diagnosis and therapeutics with better efficacy at minimum dose requirements due to integrated multiple agents in single system at nanoscale. However, the clinical translational progress is slow may be due to poor understanding on their engineering or testing interventions. An exciting frontier space of nanotheranostics is developing interventional methodologies. Engineering integrated diagnostics, therapeutics and targeting agents in a single platform at nanoscale without compromising individual’s efficacy result in clinically acceptable systems/medicines. Together, nanotheranostics and nanomedicines research area facilitate new levels of developing safe medicines which can get FDA’s attention for further trials and approval. Nanotheranostics can resolve major concerns of health issues along with biosafety and sustainability.

Focusing on cutting edge work in nanotheranostics research will define the future of nano(bio)materials and their clinically relevant methodologies for early-stage diagnosis and treatment. The paradigm of nanotheranostic design can mimic biological response of living systems without showing any side effects that opens new hope for advanced diagnosis and treatment of disease and its prevention at all stages.

Important Dates:
The first submission date: August 15, 2022
The closing date for submission: March 1, 2023

Manuscript submission information:
*ALL SUBMISSION IS FREE OF CHARGE

For this Special Issue, we invite you to submit your manuscript at any time before the submission deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted manuscripts will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed on the website. Research articles, short communications, review articles and perspectives are invited. Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere. All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page https://www.ntno.org/ms/author.

Manuscripts for this special issue should be submitted online at https://www.ntno.org/ms/submit (mark “Special Issue of Interventional Nanotheranostics” in the “Suggested reviewers” field to identify the manuscript).

For any inquiries about the appropriateness of contribution topics, please contact Dr. Rajendra Prasad via above emails.

Keywords:
Nanotheranostics; Imaging; Therapeutics; Drug Delivery; Multifunctional Hybrid Systems; Bio- engineering; Molecular Engineering, Nanomedicine; Precision Medicine