Cell and organ drug targeting

Abstract One of the big expectations of nanomedicines is progression in optimized and targeted delivery of drugs to diseased tissue without affecting the original characteristics of the tissue. Accordingly, a smart approach to increase the therapeutic index of a drug is to specifically deliver the therapeutic molecule in its active form, not only into target tissue, nor even to target organs, but more importantly, into the targeted cells. Drug therapy is based on the prototype that drug will selectively define its pharmacological activity to make the diseased person free from negative side effects and decrease the symptoms and/or cause of the disease. However, the real obstruction associated with systemic drug administration is the lack of target-specific affinity toward a pathological site, resulting in systemic toxicity and countless other side effects, as well as higher dosage requirement for efficacy. As a consequence, it is of major importance that a drug is delivered directly to its site of action within the target cell, while keeping the molecule intact. Drug delivery systems can specifically target tissue and organs of interest as well as different type of cells.