Cancer Therapy Based on Nanomaterials and Nanocarrier Systems

Table 2

Advantages of nanotechnology-based on drug delivery systems in cancer therapy.

Features	Examples	References
Solubilization effect	Self-assembled polymeric micelles with hydrophobic core can serve as a potent nanocontainer for increasing the solubility of hydrophobic drugs.	[20]
Protective effect	Entrapment or conjugation of a drug to polymeric systems may protect the drug from inactivation and help to store its activity for prolonged duration.	[61]
Passive targeting	The enhanced permeability and retention (EPR) effect allows for the accumulation of drug carriers in the interstitial fluid of the diseased tissue. The drug entrapped or conjugated to the carriers can be retained in the tumor tissue for a longer time, whereas free drug with low-molecular weight easily diffuse back out.	[62]
Active targeting	Active targeting can be achieved via specific recognition processes, including ligand-receptor and antibody-antigen recognition by the surface modification with various ligands, such as folate, mannose, and galactose.	[27, 63, 64]
Controlled release of drugs	The drug can be controlled release at diseased site when an appropriate signal is offered, such as pH, temperature, ultrasound, or special enzymes.	[28, 29]