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| Nanoparticle | Structure | Function | Figure |
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| Liposomes | Bilayered vesicles conjugated with some proteins or drugs (i.e., anfotericine) for recognition and/or lists of cancer cells | Due to their amphiphilic structure, it is feasible to manipulate surface modification and/or conjugate them with biomolecules to increase the circulating half-life and deliver antineoplastic drugs in tumoral areas |  |
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Solid lipid nanoparticles
| Submicron colloidal carriers that could be loaded with others types of chemotherapeutics or specific antibodies | Currently, these particles are under research, but they could deliver chemotherapeutic agents into neoplastic cells due to their biocompatible and fusionable membranes |  |
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| Drugs or toxin conjugated nanoparticles | The satisfactory size of nanoparticles allows to encapsulate anti-neoplastic drugs, toxins, or specific antibodies directed to membrane-bound antigens in cancer cells | These nanoconjugates deliver their drug load to increase local levels of apoptotic molecules near tumors or to accumulate in focal areas to exert their cytotoxic effect |  |
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| Nanocrystals | Crystalline aggregates of hydrophobic molecules coated with a thin hydrophilic layer | Depending of the size of crystals several protein-metal conjugates can originate nanorods or nanowires which could enhance thermosensitivity of cancer cells |  |
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| Nanotubes | Single or multilayered sheets of self-assembling organic or inorganic atoms |
Due to their large inner volume and great external surface could be drug-loaded and may induce cellular death |  |
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| Dendrimers | Monomeric or oligomeric multibranched structures whose exterior-end groups can be conjugated to drugs, antibodies, or metal atoms | These symmetrical particles may encapsulate drugs, targeting moieties, antibodies, and functional groups to carry and deliver them inside tumor |  |
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