Recent progress in chitosan-based nanofibers as potential drug carriers in cancer therapy

Abstract

In the modern healthcare system, the therapeutic options of cancer management have gained much attention. Several chemotherapeutic agents and anticancer drugs are in use to combat cancer and many of them have shown promising results. The direct targeting of anticancer drugs may enhance the side effects and limit the efficacy of the therapeutic agents. The efficacy of various drug carriers are investigated for successful drug targeting of therapeutic moieties. Amongst several drug carriers, nanofibers are recently being investigated by many researchers due to their favorable physicochemical properties, increased surface area, and ability to control the release of therapeutic molecules at target site. Chitosan, being a biodegradable marine polysaccharide, offers excellent biocompatibility alongside decreased immunogenicity and easy large scale production. Chitosan nanofibers are easily prepared employing electrospinning and other techniques. This review focuses on the fabrication techniques, suitability of chitosan nanofibers in targeting therapeutic molecules in tumor microenvironment alongside the recent advancements in chitosan nanofibers for effective cancer targeting.