The Role of in silico Research in Developing Nanoparticle-Based Therapeutics

Frontiers in Digital Health

Migara Kavishka Jayasinghe²  Minh T. N. Le²  Wen Xiu Loh²  Marco Pirisinu³  Chang Yu Lee⁴  Rachel Tan⁴  Brendon Zhi Jie Yeo⁴  Sarah Min Chew⁴  Trinh T. T. Tran⁵ 

[1] Department of Pharmacology and Institute for Digital Medicine, Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine, National University of Singapore, Singapore, Singapore;Immunology Program, Cancer Program and Nanomedicine Translational Program, Department of Surgery, Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine, National University of Singapore, Singapore, Singapore;Jotbody (HK) Pte Limited, Hong Kong, Hong Kong SAR, China;Life Sciences Undergraduate Program, Faculty of Science, National University of Singapore, Singapore, Singapore;Vingroup Science and Technology Scholarship Program, Vin University, Hanoi, Vietnam;

关键词: nanomedicine;    artificial intelligence;    simulation model;    nanoparticle;    therapy;   

DOI  :  10.3389/fdgth.2022.838590

来源: DOAJ

【 摘 要 】

Nanoparticles (NPs) hold great potential as therapeutics, particularly in the realm of drug delivery. They are effective at functional cargo delivery and offer a great degree of amenability that can be used to offset toxic side effects or to target drugs to specific regions in the body. However, there are many challenges associated with the development of NP-based drug formulations that hamper their successful clinical translation. Arguably, the most significant barrier in the way of efficacious NP-based drug delivery systems is the tedious and time-consuming nature of NP formulation—a process that needs to account for downstream effects, such as the onset of potential toxicity or immunogenicity, in vivo biodistribution and overall pharmacokinetic profiles, all while maintaining desirable therapeutic outcomes. Computational and AI-based approaches have shown promise in alleviating some of these restrictions. Via predictive modeling and deep learning, in silico approaches have shown the ability to accurately model NP-membrane interactions and cellular uptake based on minimal data, such as the physicochemical characteristics of a given NP. More importantly, machine learning allows computational models to predict how specific changes could be made to the physicochemical characteristics of a NP to improve functional aspects, such as drug retention or endocytosis. On a larger scale, they are also able to predict the in vivo pharmacokinetics of NP-encapsulated drugs, predicting aspects such as circulatory half-life, toxicity, and biodistribution. However, the convergence of nanomedicine and computational approaches is still in its infancy and limited in its applicability. The interactions between NPs, the encapsulated drug and the body form an intricate network of interactions that cannot be modeled with absolute certainty. Despite this, rapid advancements in the area promise to deliver increasingly powerful tools capable of accelerating the development of advanced nanoscale therapeutics. Here, we describe computational approaches that have been utilized in the field of nanomedicine, focusing on approaches for NP design and engineering.

【 授权许可】

Unknown