ABSTRACT
Keywords: lectins, drug carriers, nanotechnology, lectins as receptors, receptor-mediated targeting, lectins as drug carriers, carbohydrate-lectin interactions, active targeting, passive targeting, nanocarriers in drug delivery, polymeric nanoparticles (polymer-drug conjugates), lipid-based drug carriers, direct targeting, reverse lectin targeting, proteins in drug targeting, lectin-grafted prodrug, lectin-grafted carrier systems, lectins in drug targeting, carbohydrate-directed targeting, nanosystems, mannosylated poly(L-lysine), poly-(L-lysine citramide imide), Man-poly-ethyleneimine/poly-propyleneimine conjugates, PLGA, poly (lactic acid) (PLA), nanoparticles, mannans, mannose binding lectins, mannosylated NPs as gene carriers, mannose capped silicon nanoparticles, mannosylated liposomes, mannosylated cationic liposomes, mannosylated-emulsions, Man-cationic liposomes
with targeting ligands, enhancing their ability to home to diseased tissues through multivalent interactions with tissue-specific receptors. Thus, targeted therapy provides a means to circumvent the toxicities and lack of treatment response of conventional systemic chemotherapy. The advancement in nanoparticle drug delivery is expected to change the landscape of the pharmaceutical industry in the foreseeable future in terms of disease diagnosis, treatment, and prevention. Nanotechnologies, based on nanoparticles, can facilitate drug delivery to tumors, optimize the effects of drugs, reduce the toxic side effects, and overcome the lack of specificity of conventional chemotherapeutic agents [1]. Nanoparticles have been designed for optimal size and surface characteristics to increase their biological half-life in the bloodstream. They are able to carry the active drugs to cancer cells by selecting the unique pathology of tumors, such as their enhanced permeability and the tumor microenvironment. In addition to passive targeting, active targeting strategies amplify the specificity of therapeutic nanoparticles. Drug resistance, the obstacle that impedes the efficacy of conventional chemotherapeutic agents, is reduced, using nanoparticles. Nanoparticles are solid colloidal matrix-like particles made of polymers or lipids. They have been developed for the targeted delivery of therapeutic or imaging agents. Nanoparticles have the ability to accumulate in cells without being recognized by P-glycoprotein, one of the main mediators of multidrug resistance, resulting in the increased intracellular concentration of drugs. Multifunctional and multiplex nanoparticles are the next generation of nanoparticles, facilitating personalized and tailored cancer treatment [2]. The majority of studies on nanoparticles have dealt microparticles created from poly(D,L lactide), poly(lactic acid) (PLA), poly(D,L glycolide) (PLG), poly(lactide-co-glycolide) (PLGA), and poly-cyanoacrylate (PCA) [3]. These nanoparticles have been designed with therapeutic efficacy and vividly described in recent years.
