Drug Nanocarrier for Cancer Treatment

Dear Colleagues,

Nanotechnology has expanded rapidly in recent years in the medical field, specifically for delivery applications due to the unique physical and chemical characteristics of nanoparticles, such as their chemical surface, size, facile functionalization with different drugs, improved solubility, permeability, targetability, and optimal optical properties. Diverse nanocarriers based on nanoparticles have been synthesized and tested against different cancer cell lines to facilitate the drug delivery and to improve its adsorption and therapeutic effect. Among them, nanocarriers based on gold and silver nanoparticles have emerged as novel biocompatible nanomaterials with a significant impact in cancer research. Given the high toxicity of free anticancer drugs, it is important to search for nanocarriers that decrease the side effects of the drug and have a therapeutic action. Furthermore, the nanocarriers’ stability and drug release at the site of action are fundamental parameters to be controlled for improving both the design of new drugs that use nanoparticles as carriers based and to optimize pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamic drug properties. However, this design process requires the control and optimization of the physicochemical properties of the nanocarriers, such as its particle size and charge, stability, and aggregation state of the system. Moreover, cytotoxicity assays and internalization experiments using transmission electron and confocal microscopy configured fundamental techniques to guarantee drug administration enhanced efficacy, biocompatibility and selectivity against different cancer cells. The optimization of the physicochemical, toxicity and internalization properties of nanocarriers will lead to a more in-depth understanding of the structure‒effectivity relationship in the design of novel drug nanocarriers materials for cancer treatment. This Special Issue serves to highlight new avenues of research and recent progress in the use of nanocarriers of anticancer drugs for improving their pharmacological properties and effectiveness.

Dr. Rosa María Giráldez-Pérez
Dr. Elia M. Grueso
Guest Editors

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• nanomedicine
• anticancer
• nanocarriers
• cancer treatment