PT  - JOURNAL ARTICLE
AU  - JIN ZHANG
AU  - CHRISTOPHER Q. LAN
AU  - MICHAEL POST
AU  - BENOIT SIMARD
AU  - YVES DESLANDES
AU  - TSUNG HAN HSIEH
TI  - Design of Nanoparticles as Drug Carriers for Cancer Therapy
DP  - 2006 May 01
TA  - Cancer Genomics - Proteomics
PG  - 147--157
VI  - 3
IP  - 3-4
4099  - http://cgp.iiarjournals.org/content/3/3-4/147.short
4100  - http://cgp.iiarjournals.org/content/3/3-4/147.full
SO  - Cancer Genomics Proteomics2006 May 01; 3
AB  - This review explores the recent chemotherapeutic work on drug delivery using nanoparticles as carriers for the targeted treatment of cancer. Compared to direct drug delivery, delivery through a carrier can increase the efficacy of a drug, but decrease the side-effects by utilizing the enhanced permeability and retention (EPR) effect and tumor-specific targeting. The search for efficient and safe transport vehicles (carriers) to achieve better drug availability at the target site has been a challenging yet exciting area of research. Current interest focuses on the colloidal nanoparticles (diameter <500 nm), including the biodegradable polymer- and liposome-systems, bioconjugating with antitumor drugs. These biocompatible nanoparticles, with an enlarged surface area-volume ratio can overcome non-cellular and cellular-based mechanisms of resistance and increase the selectivity of drugs towards cancer cells, while reducing their toxicity towards normal tissues. This review focuses on the evolution of nanoparticles as carriers for anticancer drug delivery, with emphasis on the biocompatible magnetic nanohybrids.