Nanoparticle-based drug delivery systems targeting cancer cell surfaces

Area of Science:

• Biomedical Engineering
• Nanotechnology
• Oncology

Background:

• Traditional chemotherapy has severe side effects due to lack of tumor specificity.
• Targeted drug delivery enhances drug concentration at tumor sites, reducing toxicity to normal cells.
• Nanocarriers offer biocompatible and modifiable platforms for targeted delivery.

Purpose of the Study:

• To review progress in targeting cancer cell surface receptors with nanodelivery systems.
• To explore various functional ligands for active targeting of cancer cells.
• To highlight the potential of targeted nanodrugs for accurate cancer therapy.

Main Methods:

• Review of literature on cancer cell surface receptors and nanodelivery systems.
• Analysis of functional ligands (e.g., transferrin, folic acid) for nanocarrier decoration.
• Focus on research advancements in actively targeted nano-anticancer drugs.

Main Results:

• Functional ligands enable specific binding to overexpressed cancer cell receptors.
• Various ligands like transferrin, folic acid, polypeptide, and hyaluronic acid are effective.
• Nanocarriers can be engineered for controllable and specific tumor targeting.

Conclusions:

• Targeted nanodelivery systems show significant promise in improving cancer treatment efficacy.
• Active targeting via functional ligands is a key strategy for developing selective anticancer nanodrugs.
• Continued research will establish targeted cancer nanodrugs as a crucial platform for precise cancer therapy.