2020年，1岁至19岁儿童青少年十大死因包括癌症、先天畸形、心脏病、慢性呼吸道疾病；所有这些病症都可以通过医疗干预来治疗。然而，儿童表现出特定的生理和发育特征，可以显着影响药物的药代动力学、药效学和安全性。这些因素说明了高度关注儿科药物开发的重要性。传统药物缺乏适当的循环、渗透性、靶向、积累和释放，并且通常需要调整或修改剂量，这可能导致儿科患者的治疗效果不佳并增加不良反应的风险。纳米药物因其独特的性质而成为有效的药物输送系统，可以通过将药物封装在不同形式的纳米颗粒中来提高药物的溶解度和稳定性。这篇综述讨论了儿科治疗的挑战，以及儿科疾病纳米药物的现状，包括美国食品和药物管理局批准的纳米药物、治疗或诊断的疾病类型以及有可能转化为临床的临床前研究。总之，纳米医学在解决与诊断和治疗儿科疾病相关的独特而紧迫的挑战方面具有巨大的潜力。© 2024 作者。 WIREs 纳米医学和纳米生物技术由 Wiley periodicals LLC 出版。

In 2020, the top 10 causes of death among children and adolescents between the ages of 1 and 19 years old included cancer, congenital anomalies, heart disease, and chronic respiratory disease; all these conditions are potentially treatable with medical intervention. However, children exhibit specific physiological and developmental characteristics that can significantly impact drug pharmacokinetics, pharmacodynamics, and safety profile. These factors illustrate the importance of a heightened focus on pediatric drug development. Traditional drugs lack proper circulation, permeability, targeting, accumulation, and release, and they often require dose adjustments or modifications, which can result in suboptimal therapeutic outcomes and increased risks of adverse effects in pediatric patients. Nanomedicines have emerged as efficient drug delivery systems because of their unique properties, which can improve the solubility and stability of drugs by encapsulating them in different forms of nanoparticles. This review discusses the challenges of pediatric therapy, and the current state of nanomedicines for pediatric diseases in terms of Food and Drug Administration-approved nanomedicines, the types of diseases treated or diagnosed, and preclinical studies that have the potential to be translated to the clinic. In summary, nanomedicine holds significant potential for addressing the unique and pressing challenges associated with diagnosing and treating pediatric diseases.© 2024 The Author(s). WIREs Nanomedicine and Nanobiotechnology published by Wiley Periodicals LLC.