Keynote
Smart Macro-Nanomedicine

Nanomedicines are 1-100(0) nm-sized carrier materials designed to improve the biodistribution and the target site accumulation of systemically administered (chemo-) therapeutic drugs. By delivering drug molecules more efficiently to pathological sites, and by preventing them from accumulating in healthy tissues, nanomedicines are able to improve the balance between efficacy and toxicity. Nanomedicines rely on the Enhanced Permeability and Retention (EPR) effect for efficient target site accumulation, which is notoriously known to be highly variable, both in animal models and in patients. To overcome this high heterogeneity in EPR, and to improve the (pre-) clinical performance of anticancer nanomedicines, we are working on systems and strategies to modulate and monitor tumor-targeted drug delivery. In the present lecture, several of these strategies will be highlighted, including pharmacological and physical modulation of tumor blood vessels and the microenvironment, and theranostic concepts for individualized and improved nanomedicine treatment.