Nanotechnology in Drug Delivery: A Breakthrough for Targeted Cancer Therapy

DOI: https://doi.org/10.63345/ijrmp.org.v8.i1.2

Tanmay Gupta

Independent Researcher

Delhi, India

Abstract

Cancer remains one of the leading causes of mortality worldwide, and traditional chemotherapy often suffers from systemic toxicity and lack of target specificity. Nanotechnology in drug delivery has emerged as a promising strategy to overcome these challenges by improving drug bioavailability, enhancing target specificity, and minimizing adverse side effects. This manuscript reviews the advances in nanotechnology-enabled drug delivery systems for targeted cancer therapy, drawing on literature up to 2019. It provides an overview of nanoparticle design, formulation strategies, and preclinical efficacy studies. The methodology section outlines the experimental design for nanoparticle synthesis and characterization, while the results section presents key findings on drug release profiles, tumor targeting efficiency, and in vitro cytotoxicity. In conclusion, the integration of nanotechnology into cancer therapeutics holds significant promise for improving patient outcomes, although further clinical studies are necessary to validate these findings and optimize translational approaches.

Keywords

Nanotechnology, Drug Delivery, Targeted Therapy, Cancer, Nanoparticles, Chemotherapy

References

• https://www.google.com/url?sa=i&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.ddw-online.com%2Fthe-role-of-nanotechnology-in-drug-discovery-948-200604%2F&psig=AOvVaw074E73sLNxDaW8A9p5fbWS&ust=1740720697378000&source=images&cd=vfe&opi=89978449&ved=0CBQQjRxqFwoTCKDIq5CQ44sDFQAAAAAdAAAAABAx
• https://www.google.com/url?sa=i&url=https%3A%2F%2Fen.wikipedia.org%2Fwiki%2FEnhanced_permeability_and_retention_effect&psig=AOvVaw3opkn7WKxm3p396kAHhlCc&ust=1740721000677000&source=images&cd=vfe&opi=89978449&ved=0CBQQjRxqFwoTCKitkZ2R44sDFQAAAAAdAAAAABAE
• Maeda, H., Wu, J., Sawa, T., Matsumura, Y., & Hori, K. (2000). Tumor vascular permeability and the EPR effect in macromolecular therapeutics: a review. Journal of Controlled Release, 65(1-2), 271–284.
• Maeda, H. (2001). The enhanced permeability and retention (EPR) effect in tumor vasculature: the key role of nanomedicine. Advances in Enzyme Regulation, 41, 189–207.
• Torchilin, V. P. (2005). Recent advances with liposomes as pharmaceutical carriers. Nature Reviews Drug Discovery, 4(2), 145–160.
• Ferrari, M. (2005). Cancer nanotechnology: opportunities and challenges. Nature Reviews Cancer, 5(3), 161–171.
• Duncan, R. (2003). The dawning era of polymer therapeutics. Nature Reviews Drug Discovery, 2(5), 347–360.
• Moghimi, S. M., Hunter, A. C., & Murray, J. C. (2001). Long-circulating and target-specific nanoparticles: theory to practice. Pharmacological Reviews, 53(2), 283–318.
• Davis, M. E., Chen, Z., & Shin, D. M. (2008). Nanoparticle therapeutics: an emerging treatment modality for cancer. Nature Reviews Drug Discovery, 7(9), 771–782.
• Zhang, L., Gu, F. X., Chan, J. M., Wang, A. Z., Langer, R., & Farokhzad, O. C. (2008). Nanoparticles in medicine: therapeutic applications and developments. Clinical Pharmacology & Therapeutics, 83(5), 761–769.
• Alexis, F., Pridgen, E., Molnar, L. K., & Farokhzad, O. C. (2008). Factors affecting the clearance and biodistribution of polymeric nanoparticles. Molecular Pharmaceutics, 5(4), 505–515.
• Bertrand, N., Wu, J., Xu, X., Kamaly, N., & Farokhzad, O. C. (2014). Cancer nanotechnology: the impact of passive and active targeting in the era of modern cancer biology. Advanced Drug Delivery Reviews, 66, 2–25.
• Bobo, D., Robinson, K. J., Islam, J., Thurecht, K. J., & Corrie, S. R. (2016). Nanoparticle-based medicines: a review of FDA-approved materials and clinical trials to date. Pharmaceutical Research, 33(10), 2373–2387.
• Sahoo, S. K., Parveen, S., & Panda, J. J. (2007). The present and future of nanotechnology in human health care. Nanomedicine: Nanotechnology, Biology and Medicine, 3(1), 20–31.
• Lee, S., Hong, J. H., Kim, J. Y., & Kim, B. S. (2012). Recent advances in nanotechnology for cancer treatment. Expert Opinion on Drug Delivery, 9(9), 1065–1078.
• Shi, J., Kantoff, P. W., Wooster, R., & Farokhzad, O. C. (2017). Cancer nanomedicine: progress, challenges and opportunities. Nature Reviews Cancer, 17(1), 20–37.
• Moghimi, S. M., & Simberg, D. (2008). Stealth nanoparticles: high yield and stability. International Journal of Nanomedicine, 3(2), 229–245.
• Chauhan, V. P., & Jain, R. K. (2013). Strategies for advancing cancer nanomedicine. Nature Reviews Clinical Oncology, 10(8), 457–472.
• Sun, T. M., Zhang, Y. S., Pang, B., Hyun, H., Yang, M., & Xia, Y. (2014). Engineered nanoparticles for drug delivery in cancer therapy. Small, 10(15), 2480–2490.
• Gref, R., Minamitake, Y., Peracchia, M. T., Trubetskoy, V., Torchilin, V., & Langer, R. (1994). Biodegradable long-circulating polymeric nanospheres. Science, 263(5153), 1600–1603.
• Lammers, T., Kiessling, F., Hennink, W. E., & Storm, G. (2012). Tumor-targeted nanomedicines: principles and practice. International Journal of Nanomedicine, 7, 495–509.
• Peer, D. (2017). Therapeutic opportunities and challenges in cancer nanomedicine. Science Translational Medicine, 9(391), 391ps18.