Title:Multifunctional Materials for Cancer Therapy: From Antitumoral Agents to Innovative Administration
VOLUME: 20 ISSUE: 28
Author(s):Mustafa Yipel, Mihaela V. Ghica, Madalina G. Albu Kaya, Angela Spoiala, Marius Radulescu, Denisa Ficai, Anton Ficai, Coralia Bleotu and Nitipir Cornelia
Affiliation:Department of Collagen, Leather and Footwear Research Institute, Bucharest, Romania.
Keywords:Cancer, target therapeutics, drug delivery systems, polymers, inorganic materials, composites and nanocomposites.
Abstract:By the developmentof new antineoplastic drugs addressed tospecific sites (key to
tumor growth), targeted agents, which do not interfere with most normal cells have many
advantages like fewer side effects (as personalized treatment), and prolonged survival time
of cancer patients compared to conventional therapy. As current approaches in cancer therapy,
drug delivery systems based on polymers (synthetic, natural or combinations like micelles,
nanospheres, nanocapsules, nanogels, polymer-drug conjugates, polymer-drug polyplex,
polymersomes) are more benefic compared to parent free drug, because of targeted effect
of delivery, low toxicity, solubility in biological fluids and immunostimulatory effects.
Synthetic polymers (polyesters, polyamides and polyethers) are the most used core materials
for drug delivery systems, many of them being officially certified. On the other hand due to
their better biocompatibility and biodegradability, the natural ones (polysaccharides and proteins) are still a hot
topic on cancer therapy as drug delivery and targeting materials. This article reviews the multifunctional materials
used in targeting of drugs with polymer based delivery systems as current-day data and key of future applications
on cancer therapy. An increasing interest in the last decades returns to the new, engineered inorganic materials as
well as to the newly optimized composites and nanocomposites.
