Global Market9 Nov 2018 17:48
The global market trend for NPs in biotechnology, drug development, and drug delivery was valued at US$17.5 billion in 2011 and is estimated at US$53.3 billion in 2017 .. Concurrently, the number of patents concerning NP-based drug delivery systems from 2009 to 2012 had 185% growth rate in the field of cancer- targeting nanoparticle technology . Application of nanotech- nology in drug delivery systems could ease reformulation of existing drugs on the market. ...
... The EPR effect implicates site-specific characteristics, which are not connected to normal tissues or organs, and result in clinical improvements by reducing the toxicities and increasing the drug response. The EPR effect is due to leaky tumor blood vessels as a result of the discontinuity of endothelium and poor lymphatic drainage which allows NPs to extravasate (escape) to the extra- cellular matrix and accumulate in tumor interstitium. In comparison, microvessels in most normal tissues (with the excep- tion of kidney and liver) are less leaky; the tight junctions between endothelial cells are usually less than 2 nm, while the pore size in postcapillary venules is larger, at up to 6 nm. ...