Niosomal Encapsulation of Anti-cancer Peptides: A Revolutionary Strategy in Cancer Therapy

Cancer treatment has evolved significantly over the years, incorporating a range of modalities including surgery, radiation, chemotherapy, and immunotherapy. However, challenges such as drug resistance, systemic toxicity, and poor targeting necessitate innovative approaches. Peptides have gained attention in cancer therapy due to their specificity, potency, and ability to modulate various biological pathways. Peptide-based drugs can act as hormones, enzyme inhibitors, or targeting ligands, contributing to their versatile role in cancer treatment. However, peptides face several challenges, including instability, rapid degradation, and poor bioavailability. One promising strategy is the use of niosomal delivery systems for peptidebased therapies. Niosomes, which resemble liposomes in structure, are vesicles based on nonionic surfactants. They are composed of a bilayer created through the self-assembly of non-ionic surfactants in water, enabling them to encapsulate hydrophilic, lipophilic, and amphiphilic drugs. Their unique properties, such as biocompatibility, biodegradability, and ability to encapsulate diverse therapeutic agents, make them suitable for drug delivery applications. This review aims to explore how the niosomal preparation of peptides can revolutionize oncology drugs by overcoming critical challenges like drug resistance, systemic toxicity, poor targeting, instability, rapid degradation, and low bioavailability. This review aims to explore how niosomes can specifically address key limitations in cancer therapy, including targeting, bioavailability, and stability of peptide-based drugs. By consolidating recent advancements, the review sheds light on how niosomal encapsulation can overcome barriers in cancer treatment and improve therapeutic outcomes for patients.