Skip to main content

Thank you for visiting nature.com. You are using a browser version with limited support for CSS. To obtain the best experience, we recommend you use a more up to date browser (or turn off compatibility mode in Internet Explorer). In the meantime, to ensure continued support, we are displaying the site without styles and JavaScript.

  • Research Highlight
  • Published:

Nanomedicine: You shall not pass

Nature Reviews Materials volume 2, Article number: 17069 (2017) Cite this article

Subjects

Nanomedicine was kicked off by the development of nanoparticles, which are now available in many shapes, sizes, chemistries and targets. Once nanoparticles have done their designated job in the body, they are cleared by phagocytosis in the liver or spleen, or filtered out of the bloodstream by the kidneys; this last process is still poorly understood on a cellular level despite being a major concern for clinical translation.

The clearance pathway of nanoparticles depends on their physicochemical properties. Particles smaller than ∼6 nm are mainly eliminated by the kidneys through glomerular filtration. Healthy kidneys rapidly transport small and antifouling nanoparticles through different renal compartments with no strong interactions occurring between the particles and the cells of the urinary system. Therefore, nanoparticle-based therapies for detection and treatment of acute and chronic kidney diseases are being developed. However, the question of whether pathophysiological changes in the kidney affect the elimination of nanoparticles from the body remains elusive.

This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution

Access options

Buy this article

  • Purchase on SpringerLink
  • Instant access to the full article PDF.

USD 39.95

Prices may be subject to local taxes which are calculated during checkout

References

  1. Xu, J. et al. In vivo X-ray imaging of transport of renal clearable gold nanoparticles in the kidneys. Angew. Chem. Int. Ed.http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/anie.201707819 (2017)

  2. Wilhelm, S. et al. Analysis of nanoparticle delivery to tumours. Nat. Rev. Mater. 1, 16014 (2016)

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

Download references

Authors
  1. Christine-Maria Horejs
    View author publications

    Search author on:PubMed Google Scholar

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Horejs, CM. Nanomedicine: You shall not pass. Nat Rev Mater 2, 17069 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1038/natrevmats.2017.69

Download citation

  • Published:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/natrevmats.2017.69

Search

Advanced search

Quick links

Nature Briefing

Sign up for the Nature Briefing newsletter — what matters in science, free to your inbox daily.

Get the most important science stories of the day, free in your inbox. Sign up for Nature Briefing