ABSTRACT
Nanomaterials offer several advantageous features over their bulk counterparts and have emerged as a promising drug carrier in the field of nanomedicine. In the battle with cancer, the effectiveness of chemotherapy is affected by severe systemic toxicity. These side effects primarily arise due to the lack of specificity of the anticancer drugs. Nanomaterials offer promising strategies to overcome this issue. The high surface-to-volume ratio, biocompatibility, and easily modifiable surface makes nanomaterials an ideal platform to act as targeted drug carriers. The nanodrug carriers are directed to the cancer site by modifying the surface with specific moieties and functional groups that have the affinity to bind the surface receptors of cancer cells. Thus targeted drug delivery can enhance the efficacy of the therapy and minimize side effects in normal tissues. Nanomaterials also offer the possibility of conjugating fluorescent tags to trace the path of the drug carrier after administration. In addition to this, nanomaterials can also be used to provide combinatorial therapy and can effectively act as a theranostic agent. This chapter discusses the utilization of different nanostructures as active targeted drug carriers and the mechanisms adapted to target the cancer cells.
