ABSTRACT
Every year, the United States alone reports more than half a million cancer-related deaths and approximately 1.3 million new cases. Most of the anti-cancer drugs are cytotoxic—they kill cells. Radiotherapy has been used for decades as standard cancer therapy in almost all forms of cancers with varying degrees of success. Dendrimer templated nanocomposites are synthesized by reactive encapsulation. Structure of nanocomposite particles was found to be the function of the dendrimer structure and surface groups as well as the formation mechanism and the involved chemistry. Nanodevices can also be constructed to target exposed receptors on the angiogenic microvasculature. Over the last few years, data have emerged supporting the concept that the microvasculatures of tissues and/or organs also have antigenic surface differences. Detailed quantitative biodistribution studies demonstrated the critical importance of surface size and charge on the interactions of nanocomposites with complex biologic systems.
