Odyssey of a cancer nanoparticle: From injection site to site of action

SummaryNo chemotherapeutic drug can be effective until it is delivered to its target site. Nano-sized drug carriers are designed to transport therapeutic or diagnostic materials from the point of administration to the drug's site of action. This task requires the nanoparticle carrying the drug to complete a journey from the injection site to the site of action. The journey begins with the injection of the drug carrier into the bloodstream and continues through stages of circulation, extravasation, accumulation, distribution, endocytosis, endosomal escape, intracellular localization and – finally – action. Effective nanoparticle design should consider all of these stages to maximize drug delivery to the entire tumor and effectiveness of the treatment.

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► No drug can be effective against cancer until it is successfully delivered from the administration site to its site of action within the tumor.
► There are barriers to drug delivery at every level of drug distribution including systemic, tissue and cellular levels.
► Current delivery strategies such as receptor–ligand targeting and EPR may not be effective in clinical tumors.
► New drug carrier designs should be educated by an appreciation of the full scope of drug delivery barriers.