Affiliations 

  • 1 Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology, Faculty of Medicine, Umm Al-Qura University, Makkah, Saudi Arabia. Electronic address: iamustafa@uqu.edu.sa
  • 2 Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology, Faculty of Medicine, Umm Al-Qura University, Makkah, Saudi Arabia
  • 3 Department of Pharmacology, Faculty of Medicine, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, Malaysia
  • 4 Department of Chemistry, Saveetha School of Engineering, Saveetha Institute of Medical and Technical Sciences (SIMATS), Saveetha University, Chennai, Tamil Nadu, 602 105, India
Int J Biol Macromol, 2023 Dec 31;253(Pt 2):126581.
PMID: 37652322 DOI: 10.1016/j.ijbiomac.2023.126581

Abstract

Carbohydrate polymers-based surface-modified nano-delivery systems have gained significant attention in recent years for enhancing targeted delivery to colon cancer. These systems leverage carbohydrate polymers' unique properties, such as biocompatibility, biodegradability, and controlled release. These properties make them suitable candidates for drug delivery applications. Nano-delivery systems loaded with bioactive compounds are well-studied for targeted colorectal cancer delivery. However, those drugs' target reach is still limited in various nano-delivery systems. To overcome this limitation, surface modification of nanoparticles with carbohydrate polymers like chitosan, pectin, alginate, and guar gum showed enhanced target-reaching capacity along with enhanced anticancer efficacy. Recently, a chitosan-decorated PLGA nanoparticle was constructed with tannic acid and vitamin E and showed long-term release of specific targets along with higher anticancer efficacy. Similarly, Chitosan-conjugated glucuronic acid-coated silica nanoparticles loaded with capecitabine were studied against colon cancer and found to be the pH-responsive controlled release of capecitabine with higher anticancer efficacy. Surface-modified carbohydrate polymers have promising potential for improving colon cancer target delivery. By leveraging the unique properties of these polymers, such as surface modification, pH responsiveness, mucoadhesion, controlled drug release, and combination therapy, researchers are working toward developing more effective and targeted treatment strategies for colon cancer.

* Title and MeSH Headings from MEDLINE®/PubMed®, a database of the U.S. National Library of Medicine.