Mitochondria targeting nano agents in cancer therapeutics
Authors: Pei-Ying Zhang
Xiao-Ying Zhang
Journal: Oncology Letters (2016)
Discipline: CLINICAL MEDICINE
Keywords: cancer; mitochondria; nanomedicine.
Affiliations: Nanjing University of Chinese Medicine, Information Institute, Nanjing, Jiangsu 221009, P.R. China., Department of Cardiology, Xuzhou Central Hospital, The Affiliated Xuzhou Hospital of Medical College of Southeast University, Xuzhou, Jiangsu 221009, P.R. China.

Abstract:  Mitochondria have emerged as noteworthy therapeutic targets as their physiological functions are often altered in pathological conditions such as cancer. The electronic databases of MEDLINE, EMBASE and PubMed were searched for recent studies reporting the importance of mitochondria targeting nanoagents in cancer therapeutics. The concluding remarks of the above papers mostly confirmed the growing potential of these novel nanoagents in the area of anticancer research. Furthermore, numerous studies demonstrated the immense potential of nanocarriers in delivering mitochondria-acting compounds to their target site. Among the assemblage of nanomaterials, carbon nanotubes (CNTs) are becoming more prominent for drug delivery due to favorable attributes including their unique shape, which promotes cellular uptake, and large aspect ratio that facilitates conjugation of bioactive molecules on their surface. The present review focused on the current view of variable options available in mitochondria-targeting anticancer therapeutics. It may be concluded that improvements are essential for its establishment as a gold standard therapeutic option especially in the clinical setting. 

Retracted: Yes

PubPeer comments:
 This review paper appears to be unexpectedly similar to a 2014 PhD thesis by Yoong Sia Lee at the National University of Singapore called  Application of Carbon Nanotubes in Drug Delivery: Targeting Mitochondria for Cancer Therapy . That 2014 thesis can be found here: https: core.ac.uk download pdf 48808474.pdf Here is a marked-up version of the text by Zhang and Zhang 2016, with highlighted text showing similarities to the 2014 thesis. Generated in SimTexter : ![file] ![file] , 
 Retracted [14 September 2020] . --------------------------------------------------- Following the publication of this article, an interested reader drew to our attention that the flow of the text, and the wording of numerous passages of text within the article, bore striking and unexpected similarities to the wording employed in a PhD thesis by Yoong Sia Lee at the National University of Singapore in 2014 entitled u201cApplication of Carbon Nanotubes in Drug Delivery: Targeting Mitochondria for Cancer Therapyu201d. After having conducted an internal investigation, the Editor of Oncology Letters has determined beyond all reasonable doubt that the review submitted to the Journal shared an unacceptable level of identity with the PhD thesis by Yoong Sia Lee. The authors were contacted about these apparent similarities between their review and the thesis, although they failed to respond to our query in this regard. The Editor of Oncology Letters deeply regrets that this article was not intercepted by our own checks for plagiarism prior to the publication of the review, and sincerely apologizes to the author of the PhD thesis and the readership for the inconvenience caused. We also thank the reader for bringing this matter to our attention. ,