Barriers in nanomedicine: The importance of defined chemistry and engineering approaches for clinical translation

The multidisciplinary research of nanomedicine unites the unique prospective of nanotechnology with biology and medicine. A myriad of technological advancements has been made over the past two decades demonstrating the high impending growth of this field for clinical translation. In tandem, the advancements in chemistry, molecular biology, and engineering have molded this field emphasizing the early detection and treatment of diseases at the molecular and cellular level. Myriads of nanomedicine platforms have been proposed and developed and tested in laboratories and in preclinical models. However, very few have been translated to clinical trials. It is, therefore, a critical issue to recognize the factors affecting their eventual application in human. Towards this aim, we critically review our present understanding of the biological and biophysical obstacles encountered by the nanoagents, which we hope will promote the development of nanotechnologies in terms of future translational and clinical applications.