Nanoparticle PEGylation for Cancer Therapy

Abstract

Nanoparticles (NPs) are particles between 1 and 100 nanometers in size. They are currently the most sought-after and studied field of science, and have become the materials of choice in various nanomedicine applications due to their uniqueness in interacting with a plethora of materials including polyethylene glycol (PEG) Figure 1. Currently, there are more than 35 US FDA-approved NPs utilizing PEG in their biomedical applications. PEGylation, which is the addition of PEG to the NP formulation, provides immunity from the hostile biological environment. The ‘stealth’ property, further confers on the PEG-NP formulation benefits that are not normally provided by other polymers. This mini-review briefly describes the mechanisms of action, as well as the benefits and challenges of PEG and PEGylation in cancer therapy.