Functional Lipid Nanosystems in Cancer

Cancer remains one of the most challenging issues in modern medicine, being responsible for a high number of deaths every year. Recent important developments in cancer diagnosis and therapy based on the versatility of nanosystems have made it possible to incorporate multifunctional synergistic actions into a single delivery system. This book compiles the research on the use of functional lipid nanosystems that combine different strategies in one single nanosystem to enhance overall cancer treatment. Besides providing an overview of the current functional nanosystem strategies, it also offers researchers essential theoretical background on cancer, the physiological barriers to its treatment, aspects related to the design and optimization of nanocarriers for cancer treatment, and clinical developments, including promises, safety issues, and the expected future. The editors bring together a group of scientists from all over the world to discuss the most relevant issues and to provide updates on functional lipid nanosystems and cancer.

Part 1: General Aspects of Cancer Pathology and Treament Options 1. Physiological Barriers in Cancer: A Challenge to Be Overcome Livia P. Mendes, Can Sarisozen, and Vladimir P. Torchilin 2. Cancer Chemotherapy, Bioactive Compounds, and Immunotherapy Eva Fischer-Fodor, Alina Andreea Zimta, Mihail Buse et al. Part 2: General Aspects of Functional Lipid Nanotherapy 3. General Aspects of a Multifunctional Nanosystem Marlene Lúcio,Maria Elisabete C. D. Real Oliveira, and Carla M. Lopes Part 3: Multifunctional Lipid Nanosystems for Cancer: Research Highlights 4. Co-delivery of Anticancer Therapeutics via Lipid-Based Nanoscale Delivery Systems Yao Fu 5. Lipid-Based Nanocarriers for Co-delivery of Anticancer Drugs and Natural Compounds Eduarda Fernandes, Telma Soares, Carla M. Lopes et al. 6. Co-delivery of Anticancer Drug and Adjuvant Agents Luciana B. Lopes, Vanessa C. Dartora, Julia S. Passos et al. 7. Hybrid Nanosystems Composed by Lipid and Polymer Materials Maria Mendes, Jessica Silva, João Basso et al. 8. Lipid Nanosystems: Targeted Nano-delivery of Therapeutic Agents in Treatment of Cancer Azmat Ali Khan, Mumtaz Jabeen, Iftekhar Hassan et al. 9. Monoclonal Antibody Ligands for Liposomes Functionalization: Immunoliposomes Formulation and Clinical Status Sara Zalba, Maria Merino, and Maria J. Garrido 10. Active Targeting for Tumor Microenvironment: Integrin Binding Peptides Mohammad Mashreghi and Mahmoud Reza Jaafari 11. Targeting Liposomes to Metastatic Tumors with Antibodies Specific for VCAM-1 Melvin E. Klegerman 12. Active Targeting: Mitochondria-Targeting Signal Peptides Li Li 13. Recent Developments of Light: Triggered Liposome Nanosystems for Cancer Treatments Wenjie Chen, Wei Deng, and Ewa M. Goldys 14. Ultrasound-Responsive Nanosystems Kartick Chandra Majhi, Shrabani De, and Rashmi Madhuri 15. Lipid-Based Nanosystems for Gene and Drug Co-delivery in Cancer Therapy Christian Wölk and Richard D. Harvey 16. The Therapeutical Window of Light: Modulating Receptor Proteins and Metabolic Pathways with Light and Its Importance for Disease Control Odete Sofia Lopes Gonçalves, Andreia C. Gomes, and Maria Teresa Neves-Petersen 17. Magnetic Lipid-Based Nanosystems for Combined Therapy of Cancer Ana Rita O. Rodrigues, Paulo J. G. Coutinho, and Elisabete M. S. Castanheira

Marlene Lúcio, PharmD, PhD in Pharmaceutical Chemistry, is a researcher at the University of Minho, Portugal. She is recepient of the European Young Chemist Award for her outstanding contribution to research in life sciences. Since then, she has been developing lipid-based and hybrid nanosystems for several therapeutic applications.Carla M. Lopes, PharmD, PhD in Pharmaceutical Technology, is an assistant professor at Fernando Pessoa University, Portugal. She has done scientific consulting for health companies and has more than 10 years of experience in the development of lipid-based nanocarriers for targeting the delivery of bioactive compounds.M. Elisabete C. D. Real Oliveira, PhD in Physics, is an associate professor with habilitation at the Physics Department of the University of Minho. She has over 10 years of experience in the development of liposomal nanosystems for biological applications, namely cancer cell transfection, and siRNA silencing therapy in cancer.