The Development and Achievement of Polymeric Nanoparticles for Cancer Drug Treatment

Limited aqueous solubility, stability, and bioavailability are common characteristics of hydrophobic drugs which impedes the delivery of drugs to intended site of action. In recent years, polymeric nanoparticles as drug delivery vehicle are widely used in various chronic disease therapies owing to their favorable features such as versatility, biocompatibility, biodegradability, and biomimetic characters. In the field of smart drug delivery, polymeric nanoparticles have improved specificity toward targeted site of action, reduced toxicity, and prolonged residency time in vivo. To date, various successful marketed clinical use products of polymeric nanoparticles include Genexol-PM and Abraxane® (cancer), Capaxone® (multiple sclerosis), Peglntron® (hepatitis C), CimziaTM (rheumatoid arthritis), and Micera® (kidney failure). Ideal requirements of polymeric nanoparticle systems often include effectively controlled particle size, alterable surface chemistries, enhanced solubility, and therapeutic index of active drugs at predetermined rate and time. For instance, conjugation of polymeric nanoparticles with ligands is beneficial to avoid macrophage clearance and achieve long-circulation in vivo. This chapter will provide an overview of the achievement of polymeric nanoparticles which exhibit passive and active targeting, stimuli-triggered releases of chemotherapeutic drugs and therapeutic implications both in vitro and in vivo. In addition, the scope of successful translation polymeric nanoparticle system into clinical practice and future considerations will be outlined in the review.