Introduction

Macrophages are involved in the normal defense of the body; however, the varying phenotypes of macrophages and imbalance in their ratio lead to the impairment of immune response initiating the production of inflammation. As the role of macrophages in immunological disorders and their surface receptors modulation has already been manifested; hence, macrophages can be exploited to make them a viable candidate for targeted delivery, which was not possible with previously designed conventional therapies for the immune disorders.

Areas covered

Nanotechnology is a promising, clear cut, efficient, and adequate approach for targeting macrophages. Literature addresses the receptors available for targeting and the novel small dimensional therapeutic delivery vehicles to target them along with a brief overview of the role of macrophages in these diseases. Furthermore, the patents based on this idea are also listed.

Expert opinion

Targeted drug delivery to macrophages should take into consideration the plasticity of macrophages and their modulation over time in the diseases. A cost-effective scale-up method of development will further facilitate the clinical trials. Besides, the implementation of safety guidelines to target macrophages and the studies of long-term effects of targeted approaches in humans would highly encourage the clinical outcomes.

中文翻译：

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药物输送至巨噬细胞：针对炎症性疾病和癌症的纳米治疗靶向方法的综述。

介绍

巨噬细胞参与人体的正常防御。然而，巨噬细胞表型的变化和它们比例的失衡导致免疫反应受损，引发炎症的产生。由于巨噬细胞在免疫性疾病及其表面受体中的作用已得到证实；因此，可以利用巨噬细胞使它们成为靶向递送的可行候选物，这是先前设计的用于免疫疾病的常规疗法不可能实现的。

覆盖区域

纳米技术是一种靶向巨噬细胞的有前途的，明确的，有效且适当的方法。文献讨论了可用于靶向的受体和靶向它们的新型小尺寸治疗传递载体，并简要概述了巨噬细胞在这些疾病中的作用。此外，还列出了基于此思想的专利。

专家意见

有针对性地将药物递送至巨噬细胞应考虑巨噬细胞的可塑性及其在疾病中随时间的调节。一种经济有效的扩大规模的开发方法将进一步促进临床试验。此外，针对巨噬细胞的安全指导方针的实施以及对人类靶向疗法的长期影响的研究将极大地鼓励临床结果。