Design and pharmacokinetical aspects for the use of inorganic nanoparticles in radiomedicine

The potential use of nanoparticles (NPs) in medicine is determined by the pharmacokinetical and biodistribution aspects that govern NP behaviour. In this context, diagnosis (low irradiation dose) and therapy (high irradiation dose) is about the same for the NP, as much as to deliver toxic doses of radiation or toxic doses of a chemotherapeutic agent. The NP effects also have to be correlated with how they interact, evolve and are transformed during their exposure to the human body, during their administration, distribution, metabolization and expulsion. Indeed, owing to interactions between NPs and components from the biological medium, NPs are known to suffer different types of alterations, such as loss of colloidal stability (aggregation and sedimentation), protein adsorption (and consequent exposure to or escape from the immune system) and chemical transformation (oxidation, corrosion and dissolution). Their original performance and these alterations have a major impact on NP behaviour and have to be taken into account for any intended use of them in medicine, also including their use for enhanced radiodiagnosis, radiotherapy and radiochemotherapy.