Biotechnology Advances 32 (2014) 665

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Biotechnology Advances
journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/biotechadv

Guest Editorial

Nanotechnology and cancer nanomedicine

Nano-biotechnology is a cutting-edge eld with a wide range of applications and clear industrial prospects in medicine and health. Especially drug delivery, biosensors and imaging technology, intelligent
medical equipment, etc. will play an important role in the diagnosis,
treatment and health care. Compared to the developed countries focusing nano-biotechnology as a 21st century research priorities, the development of nanotechnology and nanomedicine in China will also be very
extensive, state 973 Program and Strategic Priority Research Program
classify nanobiotechnology as special projects and give priority to support its development.
Over the past 5 years, three joint symposia in Nanotechnology and
Nanomedicine (2008, 2010 and 2012) have been convened by the National Center for Nanoscience and Technology (NCNST), Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS), and the National Institutes of Health (NIH), taking
the important step in the development of a mutually productive relationship between Chinese and American scientists focused on nanobiotechnology and nanomedicine and building partnerships to benet
fellow scientists and to advance the pace of scientic knowledge.
In December 2012, the third ChinaU.S. Symposium on Nanotechnology and Nanomedicine was hosted by NCNST in Fragrant Hills, Beijing. This meeting focused on two topics of a strong mutual interest to
U.S. and Chinese researchers, including drug delivery for cancer therapy
and developing new imaging tools for diagnosing cancer and/or
assisting with the surgical removal of cancer tissues. During three days
of discussion, not only the Chinese scientists fully understood the research progress of American scientists in the latest nanotechnology of
tumor therapy, but also American counterparts were introducedf of
the important achievements of China, resulting in a signicant positive

http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.biotechadv.2014.05.001
1551-7144/ 2014 Published by Elsevier Inc.

impact. Through this meeting, it effectively consolidates the existing

mutual cooperation and exchange mechanism for researchers and further promotes the development of ChinaU.S. nanobiotechnology and
nanomedicine.
In this Special Issue, we collect a series of reviews from several excellent participants that address important themes highlighted during the
conference. It is hoped that this Special Issue would contribute to the
continued better communication, understanding, and collaboration
among scientists working in the different countries with the great scientic output of nanotechnology research for medical application. We sincerely thank those who have supported and participated in the
symposia, and particularly those who contributed articles to this Special
Issue. We also would like to thank those who have reviewed and edited
the manuscripts.
Xing-Jie Liang
Guest Editor
Laboratory of Controllable Nanopharmaceuticals, CAS Key Laboratory for
Biomedical Effects of Nanomaterials and Nanosafety,
National Center for Nanoscience and Technology of China, No. 11,
First North Road, Zhongguangcun, Beijing 100190, PR China
E-mail address: liangxj@nanoctr.cn.

18 February 2014