Protocols for Cellular Evaluation of Targeted Drug Delivery Systems for Cancer and Infectious Diseases

Abstract

The most critical stage in evaluation of a novel drug or its delivery system is assessment of its safety and efficacy. Traditionally, in vivo animal models were used for this assessment. However, due to growing ethical concerns in animal usage, these in vivo animal models have largely been replaced by cell-based assays. Cell-based assays offer several advantages which have been described in this section. This chapter describes in detail the protocols along with critical parameters for various cell-based assays which can be used for evaluation of targeted drug delivery systems for cancer and infectious diseases.