Functionalised nanomaterials for eradication of CSCs, a promising approach for overcoming tumour heterogeneity

Today, intratumoural heterogeneity has been recognised as one of the main causes of cancer treatment failure and drug resistance development through which multiple mechanisms are simultaneously involved. From the broad diversity of cells presented in tumour microenvironment, owing to their proliferative potential and longevity, cancer stem cells (CSCs), are the main cell subpopulation involved in tumour development, propagation, metastatic dissemination and induction of intratumoural heterogeneity. Accordingly, selective targeting and eradication of CSCs may represent a promising approach for cancer therapy and evading drug resistance development. Nanotechnology is an attractive outgrowing field in medicine due to its promising capabilities in solving several obstacles associated with conventional chemotherapy agents including poor solubility, lack of selectivity and high systemic toxicity. Accordingly, multiple types of nanocarriers have been successfully developed for improving selective delivery and reducing non-selective toxicities of CSC-specific chemotherapy agents. In Current review, we mostly focus on examining the role of CSCs in development of intratumoral heterogeneity and introducing recently developed nano delivery systems for more efficient targeting and eradication of them.