Nanotechnology-Based Drug Delivery Systems for Melanoma Antitumoral Therapy: A Review
Table 2
Main advantages and disadvantages of each system.
Nanocarrier
Advantages
Disadvantages
References
Hydrogels
Cells and fragile drugs, like peptides, proteins, DNA, and oligonucleotides, could be protected by aqueous environment Good transport of nutrients to cells and products from cells Cell adhesion ligands easily modified them Can be injected as a liquid at body temperature; Usually biocompatible
Can be difficult to manufacture Usually mechanically weak Difficulty in encapsulating the drug Problems connecting with the cells Difficult to sterilize
They can be formed by natural or synthetic lipids Biodegradable Nontoxic Thermosensitive Hydrophilic and lipophilic molecules can be incorporated
High-energy sonication frequently causes oxidation and degradation of phospholipid Low-energy sonication requires long periods of sonication and can also be destructive to phospholipid High-pressure homogenization can confer decreased stability Application of volatile organic solvents
They can be prepared by different methods Hydrophilic and lipophilic molecules can be incorporated They can change the surface Increased drug stability Possibility of controlled drug release and drug targeting
Toxicological assessment is uncompleted Low drug-loading capacities It is difficult to develop an analytical method for drug delivery Difficult to scale up the production Stability problems during storage
