Anticancer Delivery: Nanocarriers and Nanodrugs

Cancer is a disease in which cells grow uncontrollably and spread to different tissues. Existing treatment methods developed for cancer do not allow this disease to be completely cured, and these methods have various side effects. The search for effective cancer treatment has encouraged scientists to produce new ideas with nanotechnological methods. With the help of nanotechnological methods, which are becoming more popular day by day, the material is reduced to nano size, where it shows quantum effect, and gains unique physicochemical, mechanical, and biological properties. Thanks to the large surface area of the nanocarriers, more drug loading can be achieved on the unit surface, and their easy modification procedures enable these materials to be conjugated with biological molecules to become more specific structures. Due to the several advantages of nanocarriers, such as different synthesis methods, being open to modification, and relatively easy production, these materials can provide effective delivery of cancer drugs and even increase their efficacy. Moreover, there are also many nanodrugs approved for different routes of administration. Thanks to all these features, nanocarriers are promising ways to develop new drug formulations for cancer treatment. In this chapter, the anticancer activity of nanocarriers synthesized by different methods is clarified. Besides, the effects of the nanocarriers on different types of cancer, the targeting strategies of nanocarriers, and the effects of their size, surface charge, and shape, on their anticancer activity are summarized.

Keywords: Active targeting, Anticancer effect, Antitumor effect, Cancer, Cancer cells, Cancer treatment, Carbon nanotubes, Chemotherapy, Drug delivery, Graphene, Lipid nanocarriers, Magnetic nanoparticles, Metallic nanoparticles, Nanocarriers, Nanodrugs, Nanoparticles, Nanotechnology, Passive targeting, Polymeric nanocarriers, Targeted delivery.