Advanced engineered nanoparticulate platforms to address key biological barriers for delivering chemotherapeutic agents to target sites

Jun Cao; Dennis Huang; Nicholas A Peppas

doi:10.1016/j.addr.2020.06.030

Advanced engineered nanoparticulate platforms to address key biological barriers for delivering chemotherapeutic agents to target sites

Adv Drug Deliv Rev. 2020 Dec:167:170-188. doi: 10.1016/j.addr.2020.06.030. Epub 2020 Jul 1.

Authors

Jun Cao¹, Dennis Huang², Nicholas A Peppas³

Affiliations

¹ National Engineering Research Center for Biomaterials, Sichuan University, 29(#) Wangjiang Road, Chengdu 610064, PR China; Department of Biomedical Engineering, The University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX 78712, USA.
² Department of Biomedical Engineering, The University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX 78712, USA.
³ Department of Biomedical Engineering, The University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX 78712, USA; Division of Molecular Pharmaceutics and Drug Delivery, College of Pharmacy, The University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX 78712, USA; McKetta Department of Chemical Engineering, The University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX 78712, USA; Departments of Pediatrics and Surgery, Dell Medical School, The University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX 78712, USA. Electronic address: peppas@che.utexas.edu.

PMID: 32622022
DOI: 10.1016/j.addr.2020.06.030

Abstract

The widespread development of nanocarriers to deliver chemotherapeutics to specific tumor sites has been motivated by the lack of selective targeting during chemotherapy inducing serious side effects and low therapeutic efficacy. The utmost challenge in targeted cancer therapies is the ineffective drug delivery system, in which the drug-loaded nanocarriers are hindered by multiple complex biological barriers that compromise the therapeutic efficacy. Despite considerable progress engineering novel nanoplatforms for the delivery of chemotherapeutics, there has been limited success in a clinical setting. In this review, we identify and analyze design strategies for improved therapeutic efficacy and unique properties of nanoplatforms, including liposomes, polymeric micelles, nanogels, and dendrimers. We provide a comprehensive and integral description of key biological barriers that nanoplatforms are exposed to during their in vivo journey and discuss associated strategies to overcome these barriers based on the latest research and information available in the field. We expect this review to provide constructive information for the rational design of more effective nanoplatforms to advance precision therapies and accelerate their clinical translation.

Keywords: Biological barriers; Chemotherapeutics; Nanoplatforms-based drug delivery; Tumor microenvironment; Tumor therapy.

Publication types

Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't
Review

MeSH terms

Antineoplastic Agents / administration & dosage*
Antineoplastic Agents / pharmacokinetics*
Dendrimers / chemistry
Drug Carriers / administration & dosage*
Drug Carriers / pharmacokinetics*
Drug Delivery Systems / methods*
Humans
Liposomes / chemistry
Micelles
Nanoparticles / chemistry
Neoplasms / drug therapy

Substances

Antineoplastic Agents
Dendrimers
Drug Carriers
Liposomes
Micelles