Nanoparticle-Based Delivery Strategies for Combating Drug Resistance in Cancer Therapeutics

Area of Science:

• Oncology
• Nanomedicine
• Biotechnology

Background:

• Multidrug resistance (MDR) is a major obstacle in cancer therapy, caused by efflux pumps, DNA repair, apoptosis evasion, and the tumor microenvironment.
• Nanoparticle-based delivery systems show potential to overcome MDR by enhancing drug accumulation, enabling targeted delivery, and controlled release.

Purpose of the Study:

• To provide a comprehensive review of MDR mechanisms and nanoparticle strategies to combat it.
• To analyze nanoparticle designs, including surface modifications, targeting ligands, and stimuli-responsive features.
• To highlight the use of nanoparticles for co-delivery of chemotherapy with gene regulators (siRNA) and CRISPR/Cas9 for cancer re-sensitization.

Main Methods:

• Review of molecular and cellular mechanisms of MDR.
• Analysis of recent advances in nanoparticle strategies for MDR.
• Examination of nanoparticle structural and functional features for targeted delivery and controlled release.
• Emphasis on co-delivery systems and gene editing tools (siRNA, CRISPR/Cas9).

Main Results:

• Nanoparticles enhance intracellular drug accumulation and enable targeted, stimuli-responsive drug release.
• Co-delivery of chemotherapy with gene regulators and gene editing tools shows promise in preclinical studies.
• Nanoparticle strategies effectively re-sensitize resistant cancer cells.

Conclusions:

• Nanoparticle-based drug delivery systems provide a multifaceted approach to combat MDR in cancer.
• Significant preclinical progress has been made, but challenges like tumor heterogeneity and clinical translation persist.
• Future directions involve precision nanomedicine, scalable manufacturing, and non-viral gene editing for improved cancer therapy.