ABSTRACT

Traditional, non-specifi c drug delivery results in the distribution of medication throughout the body with only a small portion of the pharmaceutical reaching the intended physiological target tissue or cell type. As a result, drug effi cacy may be low or unwanted side effects, such as those seen in many chemotherapeutic treatments, may be observed. Targeted drug delivery is a method of delivering medication to a patient in a manner that increases its concentration in some parts of the body or to certain cell types relative to others. It allows for achieving higher drug concentrations within intended target regions and lower amounts in healthy tissue, thus theoretically increasing effi cacy and reducing unwanted side effects. Targeted drug delivery can be utilized to treat a variety of physiological disorders and anomalies including, for example, diabetes and

cardiovascular diseases, yet perhaps its most promising application is in the area of cancer treatment. Discussed below are the two types of targeted drug delivery: active and passive targeting.