ABSTRACT
This chapter focuses on the biological barriers facing metallic-nanoparticle-based, tumor-targeted drug delivery, and will center on the delivery of protein and small-molecule-based therapies. It describes three examples of metallic-nanoparticle-based, tumor-targeted drug delivery and the specific means used to overcome these barriers. The chapter discusses an overview of magnetic-iron and colloidal gold-based nanoparticle drug-delivery systems. It also focuses on the design and manufacturing of multifunctional metallic nanoparticles that target the delivery of multiple cancer therapies with a single metallic nanoparticle. The painstaking lessons learned from the liposomal- and polymer-based drug-delivery systems must be considered in the formulation of the metallic nanoparticles. Inherent in the development of metallic nanoparticle drug vectors is an understanding of the binding mechanisms involved in adsorbing proteins and other drugs to the surface of metallic nanoparticles. The delivery of the epirubicin-conjugated iron particles was done by intravenous injection of the nanoparticles into a vein, which was located contralateral to the tumor.
