Emerging Nano-Phytochemicals-Based Sustained Drug Delivery System for Cancer Therapeutics

Cancer is a heterogeneous disease with a range of symptoms and forms. Usually, cancer begins with a single cell that experiences genetic mutations or alterations that disrupt the cell’s normal regulatory processes. Conventional chemotherapy is the most widely used option for cancer treatment, but the cytotoxic effects of synthetic drugs affecting both cancerous and normal rapidly dividing cells, leading to systemic side effects. Unlike conventional chemotherapy, targeted delivery limits the therapeutic agent’s exposure to healthy tissues, thereby reducing side effects. These treatments are aimed to interfere with certain molecules that are involved in development, growth, and survival of cancer cells. Therefore, nano-phytochemicals-based drug delivery systems offer various benefits including enhance targeted delivery, increased therapeutic efficacy, reduced side effects, and improved patient compliance. Adding phytochemicals as a bioactive substance into these systems expands their potential even more. Phytochemicals are naturally occurring substances that present in plants, have been investigated for possible anticancer effects. Phytochemicals have a variety of biological activities, such as anti-inflammatory, anticancer, and antioxidant properties. Some of the known phytochemicals found in plants include curcumin, resveratrol, epigallocatechin gallate, quercetin, lycopene, genistein, berberine, etc. Targeted delivery reduces side effects by limiting the therapeutic agent’s exposure to healthy tissues. The ability to release phytochemicals in a controlled and sustained manner is one of the main benefits of utilizing nanotechnology in drug delivery systems. To protect the phytochemicals from degradation, improving their solubility, and facilitating controlled and targeted release, these compounds are encapsulated within nanosized carriers such as liposomes, micelles, or nanoparticles. The properties of the nanocarriers can be modified to alter the release rate. This chapter aims to provide an overview of the nano-phytochemical-based drug delivery system for cancer treatment.