ABSTRACT
Various drug delivery systems have been developed or are under development in order to minimize drug degradation or loss, to prevent harmful side effects, and to increase drug bioavailability and the fraction of the drug accumulated in the required zone. Liposomes-encapsulated anti-cancer drugs reveal their potential for increased therapeutic efficacy and decreased nonspecific toxicities as a result of their ability to enhance the delivery of chemotherapeutic agents selectively or preferentially to tumors. RGD peptides have reported as effective in delivering cytotoxic molecules to the tumor vasculature. RGD peptides not only inhibit metastatic colony formation but a single administration of the peptide can dramatically increase animal survival also however, the use of such agents have some drawbacks. RGD peptide anchored sterically stabilized liposomes have demonstrated prolonged circulation time and increased tumor accumulation and effective retardation in tumor growth compared with sterically stabilized liposomes without RGD modification.
