Nanodelivery strategies in cancer chemotherapy: biological rationale and pharmaceutical perspectives

Nanotechnology is revolutionizing our approach to drug delivery, a key determinant of drug efficacy. Here, we present cancer drug delivery strategies that exploit nanotechnology, providing first an overview of tumor biology aspects that critically affect the design of drug delivery carriers, namely the enhanced permeability and retention effect, the lower tumor extracellular pH and tumor-specific antigens. In general, nanoscience-based approaches have circumvented limitations in the delivery of cancer therapeutics, related to their poor aqueous solubility and toxicity issues with conventional vehicles and resulted in improved pharmacokinetics and biodistribution. Included in the discussion are promising examples and pharmaceutical perspectives on liposomes, nanoemulsions, solid lipid nanoparticles, polymeric nanoparticles, dendrimers, carbon nanotubes and magnetic nanoparticles. As the cardinal features of the ideal multifunctional cancer drug nanocarrier are becoming clear, and drug development challenges are proactively addressed, we anticipate that future advances will enhance therapeutic outcomes by refining the delivery and targeting of complex payloads.