Pharmaceutica Analytica Acta

Abstract

Design Considerations for Chemotherapeutic Drug Nanocarriers

Rahul Misra, Mohita Upadhyay and Sanat Mohanty

The use of nanotechnology in delivering the chemotherapeutics drug has gained much attention recently. It is capable of killing the cancer much more effectively than any other method. The drug delivery systems using nanocarrier significantly enhances the efficacy of drug by improving the pharmacokinetics and the distribution of the drug to specific organs. For designing an effective nanocarrier, an insight of size, shape, surface chemistry and geometry is important. This review gives a map of guidelines for design of nanoparticle based chemotherapy. It reviews the mechanism of delivery in different pathways, physiology and chemistries involved and barriers to transport and delivery of nanocarrier based drugs, specifically for chemotherapeutic drugs. The microenvironment and physiology of a tumor site and its chemical environment is also reviewed, focusing on the impact on delivery. This review is an attempt to map the parameters that will help effective design of nanoparticles as drug carriers for chemotherapeutics. It discusses the accurate designing of nanocarriers as well as the effect of the environment to which a nanocarrier is exposed inside the body, its fate and uptake.