Radiolabeling of clinically approved nanomedicine carriers: lessons from albumin- and liposome-based systems for biomaterial design and translational imaging.

Radiolabeling is a powerful approach for investigating the in vivo behavior of nanomedicine carriers beyond conventional pharmacokinetic analysis. This review examines clinically approved nanocarrier platforms, particularly albumin-bound nanoparticles and PEGylated liposomes, using Abraxane (nab-paclitaxel) and Doxil/Caelyx (liposomal doxorubicin) as representative systems. These formulations are considered not only as anticancer therapeutics but also as translational biomaterial platforms whose biological performance can be quantitatively evaluated by radionuclide imaging.Direct and indirect radiolabeling strategies are compared with respect to labeling efficiency, carrier integrity, physicochemical stability, and biological interpretation. Evidence from preclinical and clinical PET and SPECT studies is integrated to assess organ-specific accumulation, mononuclear phagocyte system uptake, tumor-targeting heterogeneity, and microenvironment-dependent distribution.Relevant peer-reviewed English-language studies published between January 2000 and June 2026 were identified through PubMed/MEDLINE, Web of Science, Scopus, and Google Scholar. The review further derives practical design principles for next-generation drug-delivery biomaterials and discusses imaging-guided patient stratification and predictive assessment of nanocarrier delivery. By integrating radiochemistry, biomaterials science, and molecular imaging, this work provides a translational framework for clinically relevant nanomedicine development.