Nanoparticulate Drug Delivery Systems for Oral Cancer Treatment

This chapter examines nanoparticulate drug delivery systems for oral cancer treatment. Scientific community has been trying to completely understand how the human body would react to nanoparticles and nanosystems, which are acting as drug carriers. Nanoparticles have larger surface area when compared to their volume. Friction and clumping of the nanoparticles into a larger structure is inevitable, which may affect their function as a drug delivery system. Due to their minute size, these drug carriers can be cleared away from the body by the body's excretory pathways. Recent study in mice have revealed that tissue distribution of gold nanoparticles is size dependent, with the smallest nanoparticles (15-50 nm) showing the most widespread organ distribution including blood, liver, lung, spleen, kidney, brain, heart, and stomach. Liposomes have certain drawbacks, such as being captured by the human body's defense system. The drug-loading capacity of liposomes is being tested by researchers and still remains inconclusive. All previous experimental studies demonstrated posttreatment accumulation of the nanoparticles in skin and eyes. All of these drug delivery technologies are in various stages of research and development. It is expected that their limitations can be overcome, and new discoveries would come into practical use for the treatment of oral cancer within the next 5-10 years. © 2012 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved