nanomaterials Review Nanocarriers as Magic Bullets in the Treatment of Leukemia 1, 2, 1 2 Mohammad Houshmand y , Francesca Garello y , Paola Circosta , Rachele Stefania , Silvio Aime 2, Giuseppe Saglio 1 and Claudia Giachino 1,* 1 Department of Clinical and Biological Sciences, University of Torino, 10043 Torino, Italy;
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[email protected] (G.S.) 2 Molecular and Preclinical Imaging Centres, Department of Molecular Biotechnology and Health Sciences, University of Torino, 10126 Torino, Italy;
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[email protected] These authors contributed equally to this work. y Received: 23 December 2019; Accepted: 1 February 2020; Published: 6 February 2020 Abstract: Leukemia is a type of hematopoietic stem/progenitor cell malignancy characterized by the accumulation of immature cells in the blood and bone marrow. Treatment strategies mainly rely on the administration of chemotherapeutic agents, which, unfortunately, are known for their high toxicity and side effects. The concept of targeted therapy as magic bullet was introduced by Paul Erlich about 100 years ago, to inspire new therapies able to tackle the disadvantages of chemotherapeutic agents. Currently, nanoparticles are considered viable options in the treatment of different types of cancer, including leukemia. The main advantages associated with the use of these nanocarriers summarized as follows: i) they may be designed to target leukemic cells selectively; ii) they invariably enhance bioavailability and blood circulation half-life; iii) their mode of action is expected to reduce side effects.