Conjugated biomimetic nanohybrids as smart drug delivery systems

Abstract The use of biomimetic nanohybrids as a carrier for the delivery of drugs, vaccines, genes, and other biomolecules and its potential role in therapeutics has gained immense attention in recent years worldwide. Due to their nanosize and efficient drug-loading capacity, they offer several advantages over microparticles including their role in biocompatibility, enhanced encapsulation, sustained and controlled release of drug, vaccine, and other biomolecules at the target tumor site. These biological nanoparticles are used in a variety of applications. Liposomes and polymer-based nanoparticles represent two major classes of nanocarriers which are used for efficiently delivering drug. Recently, there are several researches ongoing on biological nanohybrids “exosomes” as carriers for drug delivery. Further, surface conjugation and functionalization using peptides or ligands help in efficient targeted internalization of the therapeutic cargo at the target site. In this chapter, we have described the formation of biomimetic nanohybrids, surface engineering, properties and functionalities, their method of preparation, advantages, and their applications in cancer nanomedicine.