Cancer therapy based on nanomaterials and nanocarrier systems

Abstract

Targeted delivery of drug molecules to tumor tissue is one of the most interesting and challenging endeavors faced in pharmaceutical field, due to the critical and pharmacokinetically specific environment that exists in tumor. Over these years, cancer targeting treatment has been greatly improved by new tools and approaches based on nanotechnology. The review firstly introduces the specific physical and chemical properties of a serial of nanomaterials, such as nanoparticles, micelles, dendrimers, carbon nanotubes, quantum dots, and nanofibers. It then places great emphasis on their application in the field of cancer therapy when they are used as nanocarrier systems. Based on the current status, the paper further discusses the unsolved problems and makes a perspective for the future prospects of the nanocarrier systems. © 2010 Weili Qiao et al.