Chapter 15 - Nanotechnology-based cancer drug delivery

Abstract

Cancer is one of the leading causes of death worldwide. Nanotechnology is a comprehensive technology that can be employed in cancer diagnosis and therapy. Nanotechnology-based drug delivery systems have precise targeting and improved stability over conventional systems. Such delivery systems require effective transportation transcending all kinds of biological, biophysical, and biomedical barriers on the path to the target point from the site of application. The effectiveness, bioavailability, and half-life of the drug delivery system vary based on the size and shape of the nanoparticles used. Nanoparticles can be organic, inorganic, or hybrid. The organic nanomaterials include liposomes, polymeric micelles, and dendrimers; inorganic nanomaterials include gold nanoparticles, carbon nanotubes, silica nanoparticles, magnetic nanoparticles, and quantum dots, while hybrid nanomaterials are a fusion of both organic and inorganic nanomaterials, which act as a multifunctional carrier. Owing to the pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamic properties of nanoparticles, they have initiated a new era of cancer treatment. The application of nanoparticles in the cancer drug delivery system has certain challenges associated with it, such as reliability, high cost, long-term storage, mass production, and possible toxic effects. Not just chemotherapy but nanotechnology-based products such as nanovaccines play a role in immunotherapy as well. In recent years, the nanotechnology-driven drug delivery system against cancer has emerged as an effective and targeted strategy for the delivery of chemotherapeutic drugs.