Smart Nanomaterials in Drug Delivery for Cancer Therapy

Abstract

In today’s world, one of the leading diseases people are facing is cancer, and liver cancer is one of them. Though various drugs acting via different mechanisms of action are present in the market as conventional formulations for the treatment of liver cancer they face substantial challenges regarding their bioavailability, low solubility and associated adverse effects which greatly limit their therapeutic efficacies. Nanotechnology has emerged as a promising tool for cancer therapy. Smart nanomaterials, in particular, have gained significant attention due to their unique properties, such as high surface area, biocompatibility, and the ability to be functionalized with targeting moieties. Smart nanomaterials can be designed to selectively deliver drugs to cancer cells, improve drug efficacy, and reduce toxicity. Various studies exhibit that nanocarriers can significantly increase drug bioavailability and increase solubility. The present chapter summarizes nanoformulations used in the treatment of liver cancer. It also highlights the available therapeutics in the market which is used for the treatment of liver cancer along with their side effects and drawbacks and how nanoformulation can overcome these drawbacks of present therapeutics.