Nano-Polymeric Biomaterials Used in Cancer Drug Delivery

Abstract

Cancer drug delivery therapy has become an increasingly researched field. Between the understanding of how nanomedicine can be used in cancer therapies, and the needs of a polymer to deliver drugs to targeted organs and cells, nanopolymers are being used in this field to increase the efficacy of cancer treatments. To use an effective treatment, there must first be an understanding of the inefficiencies of the conventional approaches such as chemotherapy, radiotherapy, and surgery. The properties of an efficient nanopolymer can then be addressed in its degradation properties, bioactivity, bioavailability, biocompatibility, and targeting mechanisms. The use of polymeric micelles, carbon nanotubes, liposomes, dendrimers, etc. have been used in nanomedicine as effective polymers for drug delivery. Modifying these polymers as in PLGA, PEG, and other inorganic polymers has created an environment optimal for loading drugs and incorporating them into cancerous cells. Testing the use of these polymers has decreased the toxicity of the drug therapy and increased the efficiency of nanopolymer treatments. The discussion of the use of polymers in cancer drug delivery and the types of polymers leads to the conclusion that nanopolymers are increasingly being used for cancer therapy and finding significant results in their efficacy. Increasing use of drugs such as paclitaxel loaded into one of the nanopolymers previously mentioned is becoming a method of cancer therapy worth incorporating into practice due to the efficiencies of this cancer treatment.