Plant-Based Natural Polymeric Nanoparticles as Promising Carriers for Anticancer Therapeutics

Abstract The interest in polymer and polymer-based nanoparticles are increasing day by day. The selection and properties of the polymer are key factors for the success of nanoparticle-based drug delivery systems in the body. The properties of the polymer directly affect the physicochemical structure of the nanosized drug carrier systems. Therefore, the selection of polymer is very important in the tumor targeted nanoparticle formulations. Synthetic polymers are more and more being replaced by natural polymers to prepare the drug carrier nanoparticles. Natural polymers are biocompatible, biodegradable, nontoxic, abundant in nature, cheap, and easy to produce. The source of these natural polymers may be plants, microbial, or animals. Plant-based natural polymers are more abundant in nature and easier to produce. They generally exhibit lower immunogenicity than animal-based polymers, which is important to ensure the safety of nanoparticle formulations. This chapter is focused on nanoparticle-based drug delivery systems that are prepared from plant-based polymers. In this context, the most commonly used plant-based polymers, including cellulose, starch and derivatives, plant gums, xylan, inulin, and pectin, will be examined.