A REVIEW ON CURRENT ADVANCES IN NANOTECHNOLOGY APPROACHES FOR THE EFFECTIVE DELIVERY OF ANTI-CANCER DRUGS

Abstract

Nanotechnology has achieved the status as one of the vital research endeavors of 21stcentury, which may be called as “Nano-Century” with nanotechnology making its presence felt in different spheres of lives. Nanotechnology may be defined as the creation of materials, drugs and devices that are used to manipulate matter of size in the range of 1-100nm. Nanotechnology has found its applications in many fields related to medicine including novel drug delivery systems. Many different types of nanosystems have been utilized in diagnostics and therapeutics of various diseases. To subside the disadvantages of conventional cancer therapeutics, nanotechnology has been given considerable attention. The purpose of this expert review is to discuss the impact of nanotechnology in the treatment of the cancer. These have been applied to improve drug delivery and to overcome some of the problems of drug delivery in cancer. Current nanotechnology platforms for cancer therapeutics encompass a vast array of nanomaterials and nanodevices. This review will focus on seven of the most prominent and most widely studied:  polymeric nanoparticles, nanoshells, carbon nanotubes, dendrimers, quantum dots, superparamagnetic nanoparticles, and liposomes. All of these nanotechnology platforms can be multifunctional, so they are frequently touted as “smart” or “intelligent.” It is concluded how nanotechnology can help solve one of the most challenging and longstanding problems in medicine, which is how to eliminate cancer without harming normal body tissue.