Supramolecular nanoscale assemblies for cancer diagnosis and therapy

Nanocarriers based on polymers, metals and lipids have been extensively developed for cancer therapy and diagnosis due to their ability to enhance drug accumulation in cancer cells and decrease undesired drug toxicity in healthy tissues. Overcoming multidrug resistance by designing proper drug nanocarriers will improve outcome of existing oncologic treatments such as chemotherapy and radiotherapy. In this article the relation between physicochemical properties and capacity of a nanosystem to deliver therapeutic agents into pathological sites is discussed. Most promising examples of drug delivery systems are reviewed, and, in particular, the design of a carbohydrate based matrix with entrapped gold nanoparticles is highlighted.