Abstract

AN ADVANCED NANOTECHNOLOGY FOR CANCER THERAPY: A REVIEW.

Sanjay Sambhaji Dudhamal*, Vijayananda Khadkutkar, Manjusha Bhange.

Abstract

“Nanomedicine is the newest member of molecular nanotechnology branches. It serves for monitoring, repairing, building, and control of biological systems on molecular level, carried out by nanocomponents and nanosystems”. The use of nanocarriers as drug delivery systems for chemotherapeutic agents can improve the overall pharmacological properties of commonly used drugs in chemotherapy. The clinical success, as well as the ease with which surface modifications can be made to both liposomes and micelles to accommodate targeting ligands have made these nanocarriers in particular attractive candidates for future work involving targeted drug delivery. Ideally, such carriers should be specifically delivered (targeted) to the pathological area to provide the maximum therapeutic efficacy. Among the many potential targets for such nanocarriers, tumors have been most often investigated. This review attempts to summarize currently available information regarding targeted pharmaceutical nanocarriers for cancer therapy. Certain issues related to some popular pharmaceutical nanocarriers, such as liposomes and polymeric micelles, are addressed, as are different ways to target tumors via specific ligands and via the stimuli sensitivity of the carriers. The importance of intracellular targeting of drug- and DNA-loaded pharmaceutical nanocarriers is specifically discussed, including intracellular delivery with cell-penetrating peptides. Exploiting this new modality of cancer treatment in the coming decade may improve outcomes profoundly with promise of effective treatment response and reducing relapse and metastasis.

Keywords: Nanocarriers, Techniques, Route of administration, Future of Nanocarriers.